To be a Hunter - 1999
by Puggle-Rock
Summary: There was one more survivor of the Kurta clan. Her name was Mishka, the younger sister of Kurapika. Join her on her adventures with Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio as she learns who she is as a person as well as becoming less dependant on her brother. This is the 1999 version! Current Arc: The Hunter Exam!
1. Encounter x Hesitation x Departure

**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

**Second thing - this fanfiction is being written by the 1999 anime. That means you'll basically be reading the episodes. This is because at this current moment of time, I can't think of any other way to implement the OC, so I thought I'd start from the beginning entirely. Enjoy!**

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_Pairo?! Mummy?! Daddy?! Where are you?! I'm scared! Help! Somebody! Anybody!... Help…_

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Me and my brother had been at the town for a while. This was a town on an Island called "Whale Island". It got its name because it looks like a giant whale from the side. Me and my brother weren't from this Island; our home was far, far away, in another country even! We were waiting for the boat to Dolle harbour, but we arrived too early so we had to wait. The boat didn't come until six in the evening, and the sun was still shining so brightly that it was blinding…so it was probably about four in the afternoon.

I followed closely behind my brother keeping a tight hold on the back of his blue and orange tabard while fiddling with the sleeve of my white training shirt. My bag whacked against my white training shorts covered leg as I walked behind him, just looking around at everything; taking in the whole scenery.

We looked a lot a like me and my brother did. We both had blonde hair, the only difference was mine fell to the middle of my back and was tied up right at the bottom and my fringe was a lot messier than my brothers. We both had blue eyes. My brother wore white training clothes that consisted of a long sleeved shirt and long trouser legs while I wore a white training shirt with long sleeves and training shorts that stopped just above my knee. My brother wore a blue and orange tabard with symbols of our clan from it while I wore a blue and orange dress tabard, with the same symbols and patterns. We both wore blue flat shoes. We took a lot after our mother; it was difficult to tell where our father's gene's showed.

The town was a little bit olden; the buildings were made of white stone which looked quite nice against the blinding sun. The streets were buzzing with people. Even though the sun was blinding the streets were buzzing. I could only assume that maybe these people were on their way to the Hunter exam as well.

I felt my stomach rumble and placed my free hand over the top of it pulling a face. I tugged on the back of my brothers' tabard slightly to grab his attention. He looked down at me slightly; I wasn't very tall. I stood at his elbow; I was actually quite short for someone who was twelve.  
"Big brother, can we get something to eat please?" I asked him politely, having being brought up with proper manners and to always add a polite word at the end of a question and when given something. My brother thought about it for a second, averting his eyes away from me before looking back and nodding his head slightly.  
"I don't see why not. The boat to Dolle Harbour won't be leaving here until six and it's about four thirty now so we have enough time." He said to me, making me smile widely and nod my head quickly.

We began walking towards any direction to try and find a café to get something to eat. I dropped my hand back to my side and used the other to continuously keep a hold of my brothers' tabard. Something however caught my eye. A very tall man wearing a blue suit with smart black dress shoes and short brown spikey hair stumbled out from a narrow alley way before running to his right. Following him closely behind was a boy who looked about my age wearing green shorts and a green jacket with long green boots and black spikey hair. I looked at them questionably, were they siblings? Were they in a rush? I hoped they made it to their destination in time.

We managed to find a local café and ordered our food which came very quickly. I was lucky; I was quite cheap to feed as I didn't eat a lot. I just had some chicken nuggets…assuming they were chicken and chips with a bit of salad. My brother had a piece of steak with some salad…to be honest I wasn't too sure if any of the meat here was even meat.

I swung my legs backwards and forwards as I ate my food. The waiter soon came with our drinks. He wore a white chef's hat and white chef slacks. He's hair was brown and he had a short brown pointy moustache. I smiled at him widely as he stopped by our table getting ready to hand us our drinks.  
"Here you…oh!" The waiter said looking at the table. I dropped my smile and turned my eyes in the direction he was looking at. Crawling towards my brother was a spider, it looked hairy; it was huge and covered in brown fur with a yellow star on its back. I jumped, dropping my fork to the floor and went to pick up my food to move away, spiders were scary! Bugs were scary! Spiders are bugs and therefore they're scary!  
"A poisonous spider!" The waiter shouted in a panic scurrying backwards away from our table.  
"Hey, don't move! If you move, it will get you!" The chef said making me freeze on the spot. I closed my eyes tightly as I gripped the edge of my plate tightly. Couldn't move to get away from the bug; that was not a good thing!

I heard something clang against the table before something flying through the air hitting something else. Everybody in the café "awed" in amazement. I opened an eye slightly and looked at where the spider was before opening both eyes fully. I saw my brothers' arm extended and followed it with my eyes. On the pillar was his fork, spider between the prongs. The spider moved backwards and began crawling away from his fork into the dark, dinky places of the café roof. I looked at my brother, still keeping a tight hold of my plate.  
"You let it live this time." I said to him quietly in amazement. My brother brought his arm back towards him, dropping it into his lap.  
"My rage is still strong; I can just control myself better. I'll be back with some clean cutlery." He said calmly. I nodded my head slightly and slowly let go of the edges of my plate and sat on my hands, swinging my legs backwards and forwards once more. It made me glad he had better self-control now, so much so I couldn't help but smile widely to myself.

My brother soon came back with a clean pair of knife and forks. He handed a pair to me which I took gratefully with a small thank you afterwards. We ate in silence the only sound being the ones from the various people in the café drinking and doing whatever else they were doing. I looked to my right as I heard muttering and saw two familiar figures. I looked at them questionably; it was the boy that looked my age and possibly his brother.  
"What is it?" I heard my brother ask. I looked at him before turning my head back towards the two who were walking away from the café.  
"I've seen them twice today; do you think they're lost?" I said to my brother quietly, looking back at him. My brother removed the spoon from his mouth and gave a small shrug of his shoulders.  
"Who knows? But we don't have time to help them." He said to me, making me nod my head agreeing with him. I went back to eating my meal, watching the two get further and further away through the tops of my eye lids.

As I ate there was a sudden commotion. Me and my brother both looked up from our meals again, turning our heads in the direction it was coming from.  
"Thief! Hold it!" A man wearing a light blue shirt with red trousers and a white apron yelled. There was another man running away, he wore a sandy yellow top with dark sandy yellow trousers. I furrowed my brows slightly; stealing wasn't very nice; not when it was someone's livelihood. I turned my attention back to the two who were walking away, but seemed to have stopped for whatever reason. The man with the blue suit began taking some of the fish that was left unguarded and then ran away, leaving the boy in green behind.  
"So long, kid!" The man in the suit yelled, turning his head over his shoulder slightly. I knitted my brows together even more; I guess they weren't siblings. Me and my brother couldn't help but stare at the backs of the two, if they were friends than they certainly had an odd friendship.

Once the boy in green left, we went back to finishing our food. There was so much going on in this town it was hard to do one thing. Silence over took my brother and me once more, something I had actually grown used to. My brother was just like that, he was silent, but he was talkative when he wanted to be.  
"You remember our deal?" My brother said, breaking the silence between us and my concentration on the man yelling thief as he placed down his knife and fork finishing his meal. I looked at him with my fork in my mouth and nodded my head quickly, taking my fork out and quickly swallowing my food.  
"Yeah I remember. If it gets too hard than go back to Sarah's. But I plan on passing this year, so when I see Sarah next I want it to be when we're Hunters." I said to him, smiling widely with a toothy smile, placing down my own knife and fork.

I heard my brother sigh as he placed his hands in his lap, myself sitting on my own hands and swinging my legs backwards and forwards from the chair. The smile dropped from my face as I stared at him.  
"It's not a game, Mishka. You could get seriously hurt or worse killed. I just don't want to either one of those happen to you." My brother said as I nodded my head quickly. The waiter came and took away our empty plates; well mine still had half my food on it, and left us with only our drinks.  
"I know. I'll be okay though I promise." I said to him, giving him another toothy wide smile. My brother nodded his head and took a long gulp of his drink.

He looked outside as I jumped up slightly releasing my hands and grabbed my glass with both my hands, taking a sip from my orange juice.  
"The boat to Dolle Harbour will be leaving soon. We better hurry." My brother said making my nod my head with my glass in my mouth. The glass struck against my teeth slightly making little clinging noises. I quickly finished off my drink in one big gulp as my brother did the same. He paid for our food, leaving the change on the table and grabbed his bag, throwing it over his shoulder. I bent down on my chair and grabbed my bag doing the same, then hopped off and pushed the chair in so that nobody fell over it. Once my brother was up we left the small café and made our way for the boat to Dolle harbour.

The gong for the boat was being slammed. Me and my brother had made it with enough time to spare. There were sailors boarding the ship, taking on with them various boxes. I walked behind my brother, keeping my usual tight grip on his tabard. I looked behind me, trying to see the boy my age and the man in the suit. I hummed to myself slightly when I couldn't see them, I guess, they weren't boarding the boat to Dolle harbour after all. Oh well, it was no big lose, not everyone here was doing that and they were probably residents so why leave? Whale Island seemed like a beautiful place to be, I wouldn't mind living here when I was older.

As we stepped onto the ship I heard animal roars and growls. I gently let go of my brothers' tabard and wondered over to the side of the boat. Standing on my toes and pushed myself up to see over the top of the railings and held onto it tightly with my hands. There was a trail of dust, a big trail of dust that was accompanied by the sound of animal paws, talons, roars and growls. I smiled widely to myself. That was something you didn't see every day. I looked over to my big brother, who had taken a seat against the boats half wall with his arms and legs crossed and eyes closed. I couldn't help but continue to smile to myself; we were finally on the boat to Dolle harbour, which meant we were one step closer to taking the actual exam.

Letting go of the boats railing I stood flat on my feet once more and walked over to my brother. I turned around once I reached him and in front of him, my lower back touched his shins. I had my hands on my ankles with my shoulders hunched and soles of my shoes touching together. I guess the only thing we could do was wait for the boat to move. The boat began filling with people ready to take the Hunter exam, I couldn't help but try to hide into my brothers chest, pushing myself back into his lap; they glared constantly. I looked around on the spot, I was the only girl on here…I was the only child on here. I couldn't help but knit my brows together, held onto my ankles even tighter than before and looked at the ground, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

The sun had begun setting by time people stopped filling the boat. The sky was full of beautiful colours, reds, oranges, yellows and even pinks to some degree. It looked a lot different than the sunset back home. The gong rang through the air once more as the seagulls cried their own little songs. The waves must terrible for the seagulls to be so close to land or maybe they were just attracted her because of all the food that was on the island, such as the fish that the man in the suit stole. If I was a seagull I would hang around by the land too.  
"Time to set out! Hoist the sails!" The captain yelled into the air at his crew. The captain was a rather chubby man with a big red nose. He wore a white captions hat and had a pipe in his mouth. He had a big grey beard, it looked like he had seen the sea a lot of times, or even lived on it all the time.

The boat began leaving the port, making me sway to the right along with the breeze. I brought my head up when I heard shouting and looked around for the noise source, humming slightly to myself.  
"Wait! Wait for us! I want to take that ship!" A boy's voice shouted. I sighed slightly to myself, it sounded young.  
"So do I!" An older voice shouted, sounding much more distant as the boat sailed away from the port. I watched as the captain walked over to the side of the boat. He placed a hand onto the boat's half wall.  
"You're late! The ship won't turn back! Swim to reach the ship!" The captain shouted down to the two voices. I sighed in relief, me and my brother had got on with plenty of time; which was good because I couldn't swim very well, so swimming to catch up to a boat would be near enough impossible for me and I would have had to gone back to Sarah's and wait for my brother to come back as a Hunter. I didn't want to do that.

More guys began walking to the edge of the ship, leaning against the half wall or looking down at the voices.  
"The ship is under full sail. It's impossible for them to catch up by swimming!" One of the men said with a smug tone in his voice. I could see the man with sun glasses smirking as he turned his head to the side to look at the voices as well.  
"Taking us lightly! For such a small kid to try to be a Hunter! Bad enough they're already one." The man with sunglasses said, pointing his head slightly into my direction. I shrunk down into my brother some more, hunching my shoulders together and knitting my brows together with a wide frown, was it really that unusual?

The boat pulled away from Whale Island more and more. I heard mutterings between the people on the ship and turned my gaze to what they were looking at.  
"What are they doing?" One of the passengers commented in shock. I widened my eyes slightly; it was the boy in green and possibly but not likely his brother in the suit, running up the cliff edge alongside of the boat. I watched as they disappeared up the cliff and looked at the cliff head questionably. What were they trying to do? I sighed slightly to myself and dropped my head, Whale Island was lovely…but it was also strange.

I instantly brought my head up again when I heard screaming and the sound of bodies hitting the sails. I looked in the direction of the sound and blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. The kid in the green and possibly but not likely his brother landed into the sail and slide down, landing on the boat. The boy landed perfectly, one knee touching the ground with a foot firmly on the deck as his possibly but not likely brother landed on his face. The boy swung his fishing rod round, pulling back the string and lore and looked at the man in the suit, muttering something to him. I felt my brother shift slightly, pulling up one leg to rest his arm across as he looked over to the two. He didn't look impressed with their entrance. I looked up to my brother slightly before looking back at the two and smiling slightly to myself; it was going to be an interesting boat ride if they were on for the entire thing.  
"Looks like I won't have to worry about being bored until I reach Dolle this year." I heard the captain say, making me turn my head to look at him through the corner of my eyes slightly before turning my attention back to the boy and possibly but not likely his brother.

The boy waved goodbye to the Island, I guess he was a local to there. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, looking up at the sky, keeping the tight hold on my ankles as I leaned against my brothers chest; this trip was going to be interesting.

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_Author note: Some of you may be readers of my "To be a Hunter - 2011" version and may be asking "why?" Well! 1999 and 2011 are both different in their own way and while the story is the same, some parts are missed out in each. Also, the characters personalities are slightly different in both series. At the same time not everybody likes 2011 and not everybody likes 1999, so to hit both fan bases I decided to do a story for 1999 as well. _

_I hope you enjoy how the story goes, and sorry this one is short!_


	2. Pride x Stormy Weather x Duel

Thank you to Anime lover, Just A Cadbury, Milye6 and all silent readers!  
**Anime lover** – Yes! If I'm honest, I'm giving 2011 a break for now until I can think more clearly. My head still isn't right and neither am I. I'm going to try and update it weekends (as it's much further ahead than this one). As for which one I like best…I have to say 1999. Hisoka makes it. He makes it even more in English dub, he sounds like one of those gays that really flaunt it and it just makes me smile.  
**Just A Cadbury** – I did indeed! Both had difference, so I wanted to make this version as well.  
**Milye6** – I'm glad you do dear! Don't worry I'll be updating as much as I can without over-exhausting myself.

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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The boat had left Whale Island a while ago; we were surrounded by nothing but water, wind and the strong smell of salt. I sighed to myself slightly, watching as people did their own thing. Someone was throwing small thin knifes at the seagulls above us, hitting them square in the chest which sent them thundering down to the deck of the boat. It was always clean wounds, there was never any blood. I decided to turn my vision away from the scene and dug through my bag which sat lazily between my legs as I sat in my brothers lap; having not moved from earlier.

Opening the bag I took out a thick book that I had recently gotten into and flicked through, looking for the page I had folded. Once found, I smiled widely to myself and silently read it, taking in the words and just engrossing myself into its tale. It was quite good really, it was about dragons. The book was called "_Eragon Eldest_". It made me wish that dragons were real; they seemed so cool being able to breathe fire and fly above everyone else.

I heard a loud yawn, making me look up from my book. It was the guy in the blue suit, who laid lazily across the deck, propping his head up with a hand that lent on a propped up arm. I felt my brother move slightly and looked up at him making my head backwards. He was looking over towards the half wall of the boat. I followed his trail of sight and saw the boy in green sitting on the half wall, fishing with the rod he was always carrying. I felt my brother shuffle once more making me look up at him again, turning my head backwards. He had looked away and closed his eyes to think to himself. I looked at him questionably before returning my own thoughts to my book. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long until the boat got to Dolle harbour.

Someone began to make a hurling noise which was followed quickly by quick footsteps before being followed up by the sound of that very same person being sick over board. I couldn't help but furrow my brows slightly; hearing other people being sick made me feel sick, seeing other people be sick made me physically sick. It was a vicious cycle. I heard footsteps walking towards us and looked away from my book once more. It was the captain and three of his crew members.

The crew members were considerably taller than him. One wore a red bandanna over his head with a grey baggy vest top, black long sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up and white sailor trousers with brown shoes. The guy behind him also wore a grey vest top with black long sleeved shirt that had the sleeves pushed up and white sailor trousers with brown shoes. The guy next to him wore a black vest top, white sailor trousers and brown shoes. They all walked behind the big, red nosed captain who smoked a pipe.

I felt my brother move slightly again making me quickly glance up at him. He was also looking at the captain through the corner of his eyes, but he also held his head up slightly. The captain stopped and moved his hands behind his back as he glanced at the poor man being sick, his sailors stopping behind him also looking at the poor man.  
"Seasick in these calm waters." One of the men commented in an almost mocking tone of voice.  
"A big guy like that. So pathetic!" Another one commented in a more evident mocking voice. They looked at the captain as he began speaking, acting like his words were gold.  
"Happens every time. By the time we reach Dolle Island, he'll be skin and bones with nothing left in his stomach to throw up." The captain said to them as he began walking away from the poor seasick man. His sailors laughed behind him as they followed him like dogs to a pack leader. I followed them, moving my head slowly as they walked and heard the man being sick once more, making me grimace widely.

I heard quickened footsteps and watched as the man with the red bandanna ran across the deck, jumped into the air and perform a flip as he grabbed a hold of the ropes leading up to the sails. He held something in his free hand and smirked down towards the ground confidently.  
"Hey, come and get it!" He shouted down towards someone; but who I couldn't tell.  
"Hey, look up there! Something's about to start!" Someone shouted drawing a crowd. A man wearing a pink, short sleeved shirt and purple hat hiding dirty blonde hair started climbing up the rope towards the sailor who promptly jumped back towards the deck and landed on his feet. The man with the hat jumped down and started throwing punched at the sailor, who dodged each one perfectly, never releasing the smirk off his face.

More people started running to form a group blocking my view from the fight. I hummed slightly to myself and returned to my reading, deciding to take that as a hint that it was time to stop watching. I felt my brother move slightly as he did the same, keeping an arm propped up against a propped leg.  
"I'll bet five silver coins on the smaller guy." Someone said starting a betting circle.  
"All right! I'm in for ten!" Someone else said, excitement leaking from their words.  
"Damn you!" One of the men shouted, who I could only assume was the man with the purple hat without trying to watch.  
"That's enough Katzo." I heard the captain yell at someone, who I could only assume was the sailor that was on the ropes earlier. It was after mutterings that I heard someone scream and water splash loudly. It sounded like they threw someone over board. I sighed slightly and turned the page to my book. Nothing could be done for that, he was going to have a long swim home.

Something else hit the water making a smaller splash sound. I shuffled slightly, adjusting how I sat. I propped my knees up towards my chest and leaned my shoulders lazily into my brothers' stomach, my head resting just below his upper chest as I held my book up slightly to the air, cutting the sun out from my eyes which made it easier to read.  
"You are on my ship and you will all obey my rules! If I don't like you, I'll throw you overboard! Keep that in mind!" The captain yelled throughout the entire deck to everybody on board. I guess that was fair…but we did pay to get on this ship in the first place so maybe it was a little bit harsh. Still, I decided not to pay much mind to it, deciding that was better. As long as I stuck with my big brother I couldn't get into trouble.

The boat fell silent if only for a few seconds until a young voice sounded through the air.  
"Got a bite!" The voice yelled. I couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice from the corner of my eyes. It came from the boy wearing green with the spikey black hair. Now that I could see him better his spikey black hair was topped with green as well…how unusual. He stood up on the boats half wall, pulling hard on his fishing rod which bent against his and whatever he caught struggle.  
"Gotcha!" I heard him yell happily as something grey flew into the air, hanging onto the lure of the fishing rode. That was impressive, I had to admit. I couldn't fish to save my life. I turned back to my book afterwards. I was determined to read it even if it was the last thing I did on this boat!

The sounds of the seagulls had gotten louder and much more frequent. The sound was driving me crazy, I had nothing against seagulls but they were noisy creatures when something really upset them, and god help you if you were the person who did; I had heard from somewhere that they attacked people on rare occasions! Still, they were distracting me from reading my book, making me sigh and fold the page. I closed it and lazily dug through my bag, not really bothering to move from my spot and dropped the book inside. I swung the top of the bag close and decided to follow my brothers' course of action. I closed my eyes and dropped my hands lazily into my lap, deciding to just wait the journey out. I felt my brother move slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest, resting them on top of my head and crossed his legs under my propped up ones.

The boat fell silent with only the cries of the seagulls filling my ear drums once more. Now that I wasn't reading it was actually a little bit relaxing.  
"Stop joking. The sea's totally flat." I heard someone say and opened my eyes to look over through the corners of them. I turned my head to see that the captain and the man who was possibly but not likely the boys' brother pay attention to him as they looked out to the sea.  
"The air is getting moist. And it's salty." The boy said making me look at him questionably. What was he talking about? I had only tuned into half the conversation it would seem. I felt my brother move and looked at up from the top of my eye lids. He had also opened his eyes and looked over to the man in the suit, the captain and the boy in green. He must have seemed interesting to him.  
"The sea cranes are warning each other." The boy continued. Could he understand the seagulls? I turned my attention back to him as I fiddled with the sleeves of my training shirt.  
"Sea cranes? Are you saying that you understand the birds?" The man in the suit said. The more he spoke the more it became clear that he was probably not the younger boys' brother. The boy turned around with a wide smile, completely ignorant to the man's laughing.  
"Yep. But not completely." The boy said cheerfully to him. The man only laughed more at the boys words.  
"Are you pulling my leg?" The man said, convinced that the boy was lying.

I felt my brother move again and looked up at him again, leaning my head backwards. I followed his line of sight once more. He looked ahead of him at the seagulls, watching them fly past the boat as they cried. Looking back at my brother I looked at him questionably.  
"Do you think he's telling the truth?" I asked him in a hushed tone. My brother thought about it for a second before nodding his head slightly.  
"It's not completely out of reason. If he's a resident to the Island, than there's a high chance that he knows how the animals react when a storm is coming." My brother said logically. I thought over his words, taking in what he said and nodded my head as I leaned my head backwards once more watching the seagulls above us.

The boat fell silent once more as only barely audible mutterings could be heard from the boy and the captain. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes; just taking in the air and smell of the horrid sea salt…I wasn't a fan of sea salt.  
"Guys! Lower the sails!" The captain shouted making the sailors yell in unison. Footsteps began thundering across the desk as rattles of chains and ropes sounded through the air.  
"Get a move on!" One sailor shouted at his co-workers as they did what the captain ordered. They must have really respected their captain to just do things at the click of his fingers.

I could feel the breeze pick up, sending a sudden chill down my spine at the sudden feeling of the cold. The breeze suddenly got heavier. Someone screamed making me snap my eyes open. When I looked for the noise source, I saw the man in the suit attacked by a wooden bucket that soon exploded into bits. Pieces flew everywhere, including over to me and my brother. I felt my brother move to the right, making me following him slightly, before moving to the left and making me follow him once more. Lastly, I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders pushing me down as my brother slid down, dodging the last piece that flew towards us with expert skill. It always amazed me how my brother could do something like that without actually opening his eyes. I just assumed it was because of all the training we did before we took the Hunter exam; but I wasn't as skilled as him as I picked up on things slower.  
"Hey, watch it!" The man in the suit yelled as my brother let go of my shoulders and began pushing himself up. I felt myself move up as well, considering I was leaning near enough my whole weight onto him.  
"Well, sorry, my hand slipped!" The sailor yelled back to the man in the suit. I felt my brother cross his arms once more and lent them on top of my head as he crossed his legs back under my propped up legs.  
"I doubt it." The man in the suit complained as he took off the metal ring that hung around his neck.  
"It's ten years too soon for you to test me with this thing!" The man yelled, throwing the metal ring slightly into the air and then swung it around on his first finger, a hand in his trouser pocket. I just took a deep breath once more and exhaled slowly as I closed my eyes; just wait out the trip and the oncoming storm, that's all I had to do.

It had gotten dark by time me and my brother began standing up. I stood up first, pushing myself lightly off my brothers' stomach and lower chest. After patting off my bottom and lower back, I stretched my arms above my head. My brother began standing up himself.  
"We should go to the lower decks." He said simply to me. I looked at him from over my shoulder and nodded my head.  
"Okay." I said to him and began following him towards the lower deck.

However, the sea had gotten rough and the wind had picked up something terrible. Thunder roared through the sky above us making me and my brother stop. We looked up at the sky; light flew through it as it clashed with thunder. It sounded like this particular storm was going to be a very heavy one. I moved my eyes to one of the wooden rafters. It began glowing purple, showing the rain pelt off it more easily. I looked at it wide eyed with amazement. The colour was lovely and I had never seen anything like that.  
"Look! – What's that?" One of the passengers asked, just as amazed and confused as I was. Me and my brother began moving towards the crowd, staring up at the rafter.  
"St. Elmo's fire." The captain answered professionally, saying nothing more and nothing less.  
"St Elmo's fire?" The boy in the green asked, curiosity filling his voice.  
"It's a weather phenomenon caused by the spontaneous discharge of static electricity from thunderclouds or electrified clouds towards objects below." My brother said professionally as we pushed out way to the front to get a better look at the wooden rafter. We stopped next to the boy in green.

I just continued to stare at the rafter with wide eyes and grabbed the back of my brothers' tabard tightly. My brother was smart, he had always been smart. I remember when our mother and father used to say he was "their little genius" as he soaked up information like a very dry sponge. The only different between him and a sponge was that he never lost the information, while a sponge loses its water.  
"Oh." The boy in the green said in amazement to my brothers' answer.  
"Finally, you spoke up. I guess I should thank you for the scholarly explanation." The man in the suit said mockingly to my brother. I looked up at my brother, who glared slightly at the man in blue. I stepped behind my brother a little and turned my attention back to the man in the suit; he had a thumb on either side of his face and wiggled his fingers around as well as his tongue, making strange noises and pulling faces.  
"Among sailors, we have a saying that if you see St. Elmo's fire, you won't go home alive." The captain said making the passengers gasp. I knitted by brows together and grabbed a hold of my brothers training shirt with my other hand tightly. The man in the suit stopped pulling faces and making strange noises. He smirked at the captain, dropping his hands by his sides.  
"That sounds cool." He said to him, acting cool headed; as if he wasn't afraid of the possible chance of never getting off the boat alive.  
"It's coming, a huge storm…" The captain said, trailing off as he looked back at the rafter. Everybody followed suit and looked at the purple light with wide eyes, worry and amazement. I didn't know how to feel, what I did know was that I wanted to get off the boat alive.

Everybody rushed to get below decks. I followed beside my brother, walking calmly with him as I held onto his tabard and sleeve tightly. The boat rocked violently, smashing my bag constantly into my thigh. I was just glad that the weapon I held in it was covered with spare clothing. We got under the deck after the initial rush. My brother walked over to a hammock with my following closely beside him. I let and dumped my bag onto the floor. It was much taller than I was. I jumped up and down slightly, trying to grab a hold of the fabric.  
"This is terrible!" One of the passengers shouted as the boat rocked violently backwards and forwards making the lamp attached to the ceiling fly around in a circle violently. I felt my brother put his hands on either side of my waist and hoisted me up allowing me to climb onto the hammock. I carefully swung round and smiled a wide toothy smile at him.  
"Thank you big brother." I said to him quietly, swinging my legs backwards and forwards slightly from the side of the strong material. I received a very small smile back as my brother dumped his bag next to mine and skilfully lifted himself up onto the hammock. My brother laid down onto his side. I did the same and shuffled myself over. Carefully I lied down with my back touching my brothers back. I rested my head onto one hand and kept the other one near my face; just wait out the storm.  
"Mommy!" I heard another man yell out in desperation.

I watched everyone around me. The boy in green walked on top of a barrel, moving along with the direction of the boat. It looked like he was having fun. I couldn't help but smile a wide, silly smile at the boy and his fun. I wouldn't be able to do something like that, but it looked like a lot of fun to.

Time passed. It felt like the boat was flying at some parts of its trip, but I knew better. Boats couldn't fly. I had decided to keep my eyes closed to wait up the storm that was the only thing you could do. Well, that was after the boy in the green had got off the barrel and decided to help some of the other crew members who were being sick or felt like they would be sick.  
"Here, drink this water. And chew on this grass, it's soothing." The boy said to one of the passengers that sat on the floor looking rather pale. I had been watching him silently for a while, I guess he hadn't noticed as he didn't ask me to stop and even turned around to look at me, which was fine because if he did I would have panicked and turned around to hide my face into my brothers' side; seeing as my brother had turned around to lie on his back.

I heard the door open and looked over to see the captain. The captain had stepped into the room, his hands behind his back. He looked at everyone in the room, taking in all our details carefully.  
"Tell me your names." The captain ordered from us, pointing at the boy in green, the man in the suit then lastly me and my brother. The man in the suit looked at him in horror, not prepared to be asked such a question.  
"You want to know my name?!" The man in the suit yelled bitterly at the captain.  
"That's right." The captain said simply to him, not fazed by his anger or outburst.  
"I'm Gon." The boy in the green said cheerfully, turning his head around his shoulder to look at the captain with a wide smile. I felt my brother sit up on the hammock, looking at the captain himself.  
"I'm Kurapika." My brother said to the captain simply. I sat up as well and swung my legs around on the hammock, dangling them towards the floor. I swung them backwards and forwards lightly and grabbed a hold of the hammock fabric tightly with my hands.  
"I'm Mishka." I said to the captain, speaking up louder than I normally would, feeling highly out of place in the entire room full of grown, adult men. The man in the suit looked over at me and my brother in shock.  
"So you can talk to!" He yelled at me. I couldn't help but flinch slightly and shuffle towards my brother some more; not that I could anyway. Leorio looked back at the captain.  
"I…I am Leorio!" The man in the blue suit said to the captain, stuttering his words. I studied the two guys carefully, the one in the green was Gon and the man in the suit was Leorio…at least I didn't have to keep thinking off names for them anymore.

The captain closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly after hearing our names. His bright red nose stood the most out inside the darkened room; the lamp having gone out ages ago.  
"Gon, Kurapika, Mishka and Leorio… And? Why do you want to be Hunters?" The captain asked us, opening his eyes and looking at us sternly; his disposition never changing in the slightest. I was slightly taken back by the question…my reason was not seen as a pleasant one or even one that was wise or right to some. But to me, it was wise and it was right, it was the right and wisest thing to do in my mind.  
"Don't question us like that! You're not even an interviewer." Leorio grumpily replied back to the captain, leaning in close to him to become eye level with the short, red nosed man. However, the captain remained unfazed by Leorio's attempts of intimidation.  
"Just answer it." The captain said to him simply.  
"What did you say?!" Leorio yelled at the captain, pushing his face close to the captain who continued to remain unfazed by Leorio's outburst and intimidation techniques. I tightened my grip on the hammock; I didn't want to answer the question. If my brother didn't answer it than neither shall I!  
"It's what my father does! So I want to see what it's like." Gon said cheerfully and happily, not a care in the world as he walked towards the captain and the only source of light which was leaking in from the corridor behind the man. Leorio turned his head towards Gon, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  
"Hey, wait your turn. I'm still talking to this old man." Leorio said to Gon in what I could only assume was his normal indoor voice. So far, I only got the impression that he was very loud and obnoxious…maybe not that smart.  
"What's the big deal? Just telling him the reason." Gon argued back to Leorio, sounding confused.  
"I don't want to! I will never tell you!" Leorio yelled back at Gon then yelled back at the captain, getting close to both of them to look at them at eyes level. He sounded like a giant kid being told to do something they didn't want to do.

Leorio stood back up straight and shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked at Gon without turning his head much, but just enough so I could see the back of it.  
"Look. I never do anything I don't want, even if it means fighting." Leorio argued back with Gon. I knitted my brows together, if they were siblings, they weren't very close ones.  
"I agree with you, Leorio." My brother said, making me look up to him as I continued to swing my legs backwards and forwards. My brother swung his legs over the side of the hammock and looked down at me. He nodded his head towards the floor. I nodded my head and watched as my brother jumped down, landing on his feet. I pushed myself off the hammock quickly afterwards and landed on my feet, bending my knees to lessen the impact. We turned to face Leorio, who looked at us through dropped eyelids.  
"Hey…How old are you two?" Leorio questioned us as he looked at us over the top of his shoulder. He then turned around to face us fully, looking more at my brother angrily than me.  
"Don't act like you know me!" Leorio yelled at him. I flinched once more at his outburst and quickly sidestepped behind my brother, peaking from behind my brothers arm just enough that only my eyes showed. My brother however, remained unfazed by Leorio's anger and shouted. Instead, he continued to stare through him and at the captain instead.  
"It's easy to avert an unwanted question by making a believable story." My brother spoke taking Leorio back for whatever reason. Perhaps because my brother ignored his outburst and shouting.

We began walking towards the question, me following closely behind my older sibling, keeping my ever so tight grip on the back of his tabard and shirt sleeve.  
"However, I consider making a false statement is a most shameful action akin to greed." My brother said as we stopped in front of the captain, just a little way away from Leorio; who glared at my brother so much that if looks could kill than I would truly be alone. I watched Leorio carefully, staying behind my brother as much as possible without losing sight of him.  
"Call me "Mr. Leorio"!" Leorio demanded from my brother, keeping his death glare. He glared down from under his glasses so much that the veins in his neck began to show.  
"However, my reason for applying is too personal to tell someone I just met." My brother answered, brushing off Mr. Leorio's comment and anger as if it was nothing but dust on his shoulder. I tugged on my brothers' sleeve slightly, trying to grab his attention to at least say something to Leorio.  
"Therefore, I can't answer your question at the moment." My brother said to the captain, continuing to ignore Mr. Leorio.  
"Call me Mr. Leorio. Mr. Leorio!" Mr. Leorio said angrily once more. My brother looked up at Mr. Leorio, whose face was going red with anger. I looked over at Gon who was looking between the two just as I was. I held onto my brother sleeve a little bit tighter, putting myself behind him a little bit more to try and hide from Mr. Leorio's death like glare.

I glanced at the captain who looked at me, waiting for my answer. I quickly let go of my brothers' sleeve and tabard and turned myself around fully to look at the captain, holding my hands lightly behind my back.  
"I'm sorry Mr Captain. My answer is the same; it's really personal so I don't think it's right to tell you. I'm sorry." I said to him, removing my hands from behind my back and placing them in front of me instead as I bowed down slightly showing I was sorry. The captain however didn't take mine or my brothers' answer lightly. He just continued to look at us with the stern look as I stood up straight once more and placed my hands behind my back again, lightly lacing my fingers together.  
"Get off my ship immediately if you can't answer my question." The captain said to us bluntly. Gon, Leorio and my brother all looked at the captain confused as he just continued to watch us, not even moving from his spot.  
"You still don't get it? The Hunter Exam has already begun. It started the moment you got on this ship." The captain said as he bowed his head slightly and started digging through his blue sailor jacket. He pulled out a card. It was white in colour and had a red square in the middle. What was the biggest shock was that the card had the Hunter symbol in the middle of it, showing that he was indeed a qualified Hunter. All of us looked at him in shock, our eyes turning wide and mouths agape in shock. I lightly gasped to myself, he was a Hunter and if the exam started…did that mean…I hoped not.  
"That's from the Hunter Association…!" Leorio said startled as he moved back away from the card, as if afraid to be near it in case it tried to kill him.

The thunder continued to clap through the sky, the boat continued to rock violently backwards and forwards and side to side. It was amazing that any of us were able to keep our footing as much as we did. But maybe that was because we were still shocked by what the captain had shown us.  
"As you may know, there are hoards of people who want to get the Hunter License… However, proctors have no time to examine all of those people. Therefore, someone like me is hired to screen the applicants. The ones who have been thrown off the ship and the ones lying around here are reported to the committee and disqualified." The captain explained to us. A clap of thunder followed the last of his words, only adding to the tension that was rising in the room since he showed us his Hunter license. He paused allowing us to take in the new information before starting his explanation once more.  
"Even if they go to the Exam Hall, they will be turned away." The captain said some more, placing his card back into his blue jacket. He never took his eyes off is as he spoke to even fiddled with his jacket.  
"It means that whether you can take the Exam or not depends solely on me. You'd better answer my question very carefully." The captain finished, his words hanging in the air. I guess we had to choice; if we wanted to take the Hunter exam we had to answer the Captains question.

Leorio bowed his head slightly and clicked his tongue in annoyance. His hands tightened into fists as he kept them in his trouser pockets.  
"Geez…I have no choice then. I guess I have to answer. The reason I want to be a Hunter is…" Leorio began saying until my brother cut his sentence short.  
"I and Mishka are the only survivors of the Kurta Clan." My brother said to the captain. I looked up at him, knitting my brows together and tugged on his sleeve a little bit with my hand.  
"Big brother, Mr. Leorio was talking…" I muttered to him in my usual quiet voice as Mr Leorio turned around angrily, glaring at my brother.  
"Hey, I'm trying to talk!" Leorio shouted at my brother, continuing with his death glare that could send people six feet under if looks were able to kill.

There was a pause between everyone's talking as my brother continued to look at the captain, his own stance and eyes never fazing as he continued with his reason of becoming a Hunter.  
"I want to be a "Blacklist Hunter" to capture convicts who have bounties on their heads." My brother said firmly to the captain. The captain looked at my brother sternly, wondering his reasons. His stance may not have changed, but the way he looked at my brother did; even if he didn't try to let it show. His look became curious.  
"The reason for that?" The captain questioned him, his voice trailing off.  
"Four years ago, all of our brethren were massacred by a gang of thieves "The Phantom Troupe"! I am determined to capture them. For that reason…" My brother continued, stopping midsentence as if he was finding it difficult to place his reason into words. I looked between my brother and the captain, by brows staying knitted together. Even though it was all those years ago, it was still kind of a sensitive subject for both of us…for who more though I didn't know.  
"You want to be a Hunter?" The captain questioned my brother once more. My brother responded with a nod of his head, never taking his eyes off the captain.  
"All members of the Phantom Troupe are on the most wanted list. Even the most experienced Hunter hesitates. You may end up dying in vain." The captain explained to my brother. I looked at my brother for his answer, although I had a feeling I already knew what it was and it was something that always scared me.  
"I'm not afraid of dying. The worst fear I have is that my anger will fade away." My brother said to the captain. That was what always made me sad. He wasn't afraid to die…me on the other hand, I was absolutely petrified of dying and yet I was going after one of the most wanted people in the entire world.

The room fell silent as the captain looked at me next. I looked at the captain fully, letting my finger unlace themselves and fall to my side. I could fell Mr Leorio's and Gon's eyes on me as well as the captains; and that's what made telling him my reason so nerve whacking, even though it was the same as my brothers. I took a small breath as I looked at the captain as sternly as I could.  
"I wish to become a Blacklist Hunter too. My reason is the same as big brothers'. I want to show everybody that died that they were never forgotten and that the people who did it are brought to justice." I said to the captain, speaking louder than my normal quiet voice, keeping my best stern and serious look that I could muster on my face. The captain continued to look at me with the same stern look he was giving my brother, although like my brother it was also full of question.  
"Do you feel the same as him? You too, may end up dying in vain." The captain said to me. I looked away slightly, clenching my hands together lightly.  
"I am afraid of dying, and I'm scared that my anger will go away. But, it's something I have to overcome if I want to bring them to justice." I said to the captain once more in my slightly louder than normal voice, looking back at him seriously once more. It was the most I had said on the boat since we were on it.

I could still feel Mr Leorio and Gon looking at me as I stared at the captain. He bowed his head slightly after thinking over mine and my brothers' answer.  
"I see." He said simply, possibly trying to take in what we had said. I could feel Mr Leorio's look turn into a glare as he continued to look at both me and my brother.  
"Don't give me that important crap! If you two want revenge, you don't have to be a Hunter." Mr Leorio said to us. I knitted my brows slightly as I turned my attention back to Mr Leorio, who just continued to glare at us. I could feel Gon looking between the three of us, trying to decide what was exactly going on.  
"That is one of the most foolish comments I've ever heard. There are places and information that only Hunters are allowed access to and actions you are allowed to take only as a Hunter, Leorio." My brother said, calling Mr Leorio by only his first name once more. I looked up at my brother with wide eyes; he was smart, but if he didn't feel like someone deserved respect than he didn't give it, which was quite the opposite of what he taught me.  
"I told you to call me Mr Leorio!" Mr Leorio yelled at my brother once more, his voice and movements getting angrier and more violent at he spoke and glared at us. I couldn't help but try and take up residents behind my brother once more to keep out from his powerful and evil glare.

The captain looked at Mr Leorio, continuing to be unfazed by his actions and tone.  
"Well then, what is your motive, Mr Leorio?" The captain asked Mr Leorio, in an almost mocking tone of voice that was so well disguised Mr Leorio probably wouldn't pick up on it. Mr Leorio turned his attention away from me and my brother making me sigh in relief. I stepped out from behind my brother and watched Mr Leorio carefully as he looked at the captain.  
"Mine? I won't answer your question just to impress you. So, I'll tell you honestly. Money!" Mr Leorio said greedily, smiling widely as he looked at the captain with wide eyes and a toothy grin on his smug looking face.  
"I will be a Hunter, and I'll make lots of money! If I have money, I can get anything! A huge mansion! A great car. Expensive liquor, even woman!" Mr Leorio said, laughing to himself with his hands next to his shoulders as he looked up. I couldn't help put pull a face, liquor always smelt horrible; I couldn't understand why anyone would want to drink the stuff willingly.  
"You can't buy class, Leorio." My brother commented, rubbing in the lack of politeness to his name even more. Leorio stopped laughing slightly and loosened his shoulders, clicking his tongue in annoyance at the lack of respect from my brother.

I looked up at my brother, knitting my brows together.  
"Big brother I think you should be polite to Mr Leorio now…" I said to him in my normal quiet voice, making it so only he could hear. My brother looked at me and shook his head, giving me the silent answer of "I'm not giving someone who doesn't deserve respect, respect." I couldn't help but frown widely.  
"This is the third time. Let's go outside. I guess the dirty Kurta Clan's man doesn't know about courtesy." Mr Leorio said to him. I frowned widely at Mr Leorio's words and knitted my brows together tightly. My brother gasped in shock, offended by Mr Leorio's words.  
"Take back your words, Leorio." My brother said to Mr Leorio angrily. Mr Leorio just continued to look down at us from over his shoulder, his eyes seething with hatred towards us.  
"Remember, it's "Mr Leorio." Maybe you should teach your sister courtesy so that she doesn't turn out like you." Mr Leorio said to us, his words dripping with hatred towards us, all because of the lack of politeness from my brother.

The room fell silent as my brother and Mr Leorio continued to stare at each other, both of their eyes full of hate for one another. I couldn't help but frown widely as I looked between the two.  
"Come!" Mr Leorio demanded from my brother, breaking the silence as he continued to glare at us over his shoulder.  
"With pleasure!" My brother said to him as he began walking away to follow Mr Leorio. I watched as my brother walked away, moving my feet slightly to follow them, my frown turning into a look of worry.  
"H-Hey wait! I'm not through with you yet. Hey! Wait!" The captain yelled after the two as they walked down the corridor leading to the outside. The captain began following them, anger clearly showing in his eyes at the two's behaviour. I quickly poked my head around from the door; my brother had drawn his weapon as did Mr Leorio. I was about to run after them until a familiar young voice spoke.  
"Let them go." Gon said simply with a sigh. I looked over my shoulder at him, my hands on the door frame gripping it tightly. The captain looked over to Gon, turning himself around to face him probably. Gon looked between the captain and me, standing firm with a stern look on his face.  
""If you want to know someone, know what makes them angry." I like those words that Aunt Mito taught me." Gon said to the captain and me. I couldn't help but frown widely; something just told me that the two would never understand why they were so angry in the first place. Gon, however, ignored my look and continued to speak sternly as he looked at the captain and me.  
"It seems to me that the reason for their anger is very important. You'd better not stop them." Gon said to us, never taking his eyes off us.

I looked away from him and towards the ground for a second before looking back at him, my brows knitting together with the wide frown still sitting on my face. I took a small deep breath before I began speaking to him.  
"Your big brother is very mean. He said we were dirty." I said to Gon, keeping my place by the door frame, holding onto it tightly with my hands. Gon looked at me questionably, raising an eyebrow in confusion at my words.  
"He isn't my brother." Gon said to me confused. I looked at him confused, my eyes going wide. I couldn't help but blink a couple of times after what I heard. Sure it was believable, and I kind of know, but at the same time I wasn't expecting it…if that made sense.  
"And I'm sure he didn't mean it. Like I said before, their reason for their anger seems very important. Once he's cooled down I'm sure he'll apologise." Gon said to me reassuringly. I thought over his words quickly, looking away to the floor, then looked at him through the tops of my eye lids and nodded my head quickly and shortly agreeing with him that hopefully he would apologise.

We had decided in the end to go onto the top deck. One of the sailors had come down and said there was a crack in the giant wooden pillar that was glowing purple earlier. Me, Gon and the captain quickly ran outside, the sudden rain accompanied by the chill of the sea making me shiver to the exposer. I looked in the air to see my brother and Mr Leorio falling to the ground, landing on their feet away from each other. They ran at each other again, locking weapons. I couldn't help but cover my mouth with my hands to stop myself calling out to my brother. I could see my brothers' mouth move, as if replying to something Mr Leorio said before jumping away from him. The two ran at each other again, weapons colliding as they ran to opposite spots.  
"Katzo! Be careful!" I heard the captain yell, making me move my eyes towards where the captain was. I looked up the rope ladder to see Katzo, the sailor wearing the bandanna climbing up the rope ladder, blanks of wood in hand. We waved his hand in the air and then turned to the blank of wood, hammering it with nails to the giant wooden pillar.

The waves from the sea had started becoming much more aggressive. A big flood of water washed over the boats half walls and onto the deck. I heard Gon gasp and couldn't help but gasp myself, pressing my hands tighter over my mouth as lightning struck the post Katzo was at, sending him hurdling towards the sea. He screamed as his body flipped in the air with the fall.  
"Katzo!" The captain yelled. Gon started running after Katzo, I followed after him without thinking. The only thing running through my mind was to help Katzo, the falling, screaming man. My brother and Mr Leorio began running after Katzo themselves. They slammed into the boats half wall and reached out for him, but couldn't even touch him. That's when Gon launched himself over the edge to grab Katzo. I gasped slightly in surprise and without thinking once more, threw myself over board and grabbed onto his booted ankles just as he threw his arms around Katzo's waist, hugging him tightly to him to stop him falling. I felt another pair of hands grab my ankles, making a human chain. We swung against the side of the boat, making me close my eyes tightly at the sudden sensation of pain.  
"Th-Thank you… You saved my life." I heard Katzo and Gon mutter, before being splashed by another giant wave, soaking them to the bone.

We were pulled back up to the boat, that's where safety was. The sea had calmed, and the sky had cleared of thunder, lightning and rain clouds making the sun shine brightly and glare off of the wet deck and sea. I sat closely to my brother my legs up to my chest, chin leaning against my knees with my arms around my legs; waiting to be scolded for acting without thinking first. My brother sat with one leg over the over, hands interlinked over his knee with his eyes closed… He was going to scold me so much. Mr Leorio had stripped down to his underwear, his clothes being soaked; the only thing he was wearing was his purple tie and boxers. Gon was standing next to me, his hands interlinked behind the back of his head.  
"Gon. Mishka. That was so reckless!" Leorio said, breaking the silence. I flinched and looked at him… Mr Leorio was going to scold me as well? Gon looked at Mr Leorio as if he had done nothing wrong.  
"Very reckless, indeed." My brother continued. I knitted my brows together; this was the worst kind of scolding from my brother. He would act calm and normal, but he was good at guilt tripping you into knowing you did something wrong and it worked every time, I was already feeling guilty and with Mr Leorio scolding me as well...  
"If we didn't grab you, you'd both have been goners too!" Mr Leorio said to us leaning forward to get his point across. I frowned widely at his words, knitting my brows together even more than they already were. I heard Gon hum to himself and shuffle slightly. It sounded like he was turning around to face my brother and Mr Leorio.  
"But you did catch us, didn't you?" Gon questioned them cheerfully. I looked at Gon before looking back at my brother and Mr Leorio, who looked at Gon questionably.

I heard Gon sitting down next to me, his knee tapping my leg slightly as Gon dropped himself to the floor, his hands lazily on his thighs as he looked at the two questionably, but smiling widely.  
"By the way, what happened to the duel?" Gon asked them. I looked at the two as well, wondering what was going to happen with that.  
"Duel? Ah, right. We were doing that." Mr Leorio said, looking back at my brother. My brother closed his eyes again as everything fell silent between us all. Me and Gon looked at the two questionably, waiting for their answers.  
"Let me apologise for my rude action. I'm sorry, Mr Leorio." My brother said, being polite this time. He opened his eyes and looked at Mr Leorio, who turned his head away and scratched the back of it, probably feeling embarrassed. I didn't understand why though, after all he wanted big brother to call him Mr Leorio…so why feel embarrassed by it?  
"Hey, don't be so square. You can call me Leorio, Kurapika. That goes for you too, Mishka. Let me apologise, too." Leorio said to us as he stopped scratching the back of his head. He looked at my brother and me seriously, although it was more to my brother than myself. He dropped his hand back to his lap, keeping the serious look.  
"I take back everything I said to you about your people." Mr Leorio said to my brother, making him smile at the gesture. I turned my head to Gon, smiling widely at him.  
"You were right." I said to him quietly. Gon smiled back and nodded his head back at me. We turned our attention back to Mr Leorio and my brother. I was glad that they weren't fighting; we didn't need enemies.

I heard footsteps and laughing. Turning my head in the direction it was coming from I saw the captain standing in front of us, holding his pipe in his hand and a wide smile on his face. His shoulders and belly moved as he chuckled joyfully.  
"The four of you have passed the trail!" The captain said, grabbing everybody else's attention. Mr Leorio turned around and began standing up, looking at the captain in shock. Gon and my brother also looked shock, not sure if they should believe what the captain had just told them. I just looked at him with wide eyes, trying to decide myself if I should believe him.  
"Are you serious?" Mr Leorio asked him. The captain began turning around, keeping the pipe in his hand.  
"Yeah, I'll take you to Dolle Island." The captain said, making me smile widely. That meant we were one step closer to becoming Hunters!  
"Yippee! But can this scrap make it without sinking?" Mr Leorio celebrated before questioning, referring to the boat as scrap. I saw Gon smile widely from the corner of my eyes. Me and Gon turned to each other, keeping the wide smiles on our faces, excited from the news. The captain laughed at Mr Leorio's question as me and Gon turned our heads to look at him once more.  
"Trust me!" The captain exclaimed loudly and proudly, chuckling more at the end of his sentence.

I could feel the excitement swell up inside my tummy, we had passed the first phase and that meant we were one step to becoming Hunters. I could hardly wait!

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_Author note: Hooray for naivety! _


	3. Decision x Short Cut x Long way

Big thank you to Anime lover and all silent readers!  
**Anime lover – **I personally like 1999 Kurapika better. He's cockier and more…how to put it, blunt with what he says. I find in the 2011 version he beats around the bush somewhat.

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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The day had brightened up since last night's storm. The air smelt clean and the sky looked clear. There was a slight breeze letting us know that there was a storm that had recently passed as the salt smelt stronger. My clothes had finally dried out properly after being soaked by the downpour. Leorio was finally dressed like the adult he should be. Gon was dry and my brother was no longer scolding me.

So much had happened in the past few hours of being on that boat. Mr Leorio and my brother hated each other and now they acted like good friends…they bickered a lot but they still acted as if they had known each other for years. I hadn't really spoken to Gon or Mr Leorio since the incidents on the boat and if I was honest it didn't bother me much after all we weren't going to be travelling with them. That made me a little sad…I kind of wanted to travel with them; know they're stories and get to know them, even if Mr Leorio was an angry grown man. But it did make me wonder…if we were going to the exam soon, why were we waiting around? Not that I would eve question my brothers' thoughts; he usually had a reason for whatever he did.

I followed behind my brother off the boat, Mr Leorio walked in front of us. I looked around Dolle harbour as we walked down the ramp; it was full of people! Was everybody here going to take the Hunter exam? There must have been more than a thousand people just at the harbour alone…the exam site must have been huge.

The seagulls cried above us as we walked along the harbour and stopped a little bit away from the dock edge. I had taken my usual spot next to my brother, holding onto the back of his blue tabard tightly with one hand, and kept a grip of my bag with the other. Gon was nowhere to be seen, I had assumed he went off on his own to the Hunter exam. Maybe, if I was lucky, I would meet him again at the exam sight.  
"There sure are a lot of people." Mr Leorio pointed out as he flung his suit case over his shoulder and dug his hand into his suit pocket. He wore a grin on his face as he looked around at the crowd from beside my brother.  
"Most of them are probably here for the same reason as us." My brother said, smirking at the crowd. I looked up at him through the corner of my eyes and then turned my attention back to the muttering crowd.  
"So, they're all candidates, from around the world, here for the Hunter Exam. Let's see. What can we ride to get to Zaban City?" Mr Leorio spoke as he bent down, never removing his hand from his pocket or suitcase from over his shoulder. I looked at him from the corner of my eye and stepped back from his line of sight, allowing him to get a clearer view of whatever it was he was looking at. He turned around to look elsewhere, staying next to my brother.

I looked around myself, tugging at the back of my brothers' tabard to gain his attention. He turned his head slightly and looked down at me as I looked up at him through the corner of my eyes.  
"Will all these people make it to the exam sight?" I asked him, just loud enough for him to hear what I was saying; I didn't want to draw attention to myself from the other candidates. My brother shook his head rather quickly, having come to his conclusion almost instantly.  
"Not likely. The exam will probably weed out most of the candidates." My brother explained bluntly. I nodded my head and looked back at the crowd; hopefully that would be the case, I don't think I could compete with what looked like to be about a thousand people.

I exhaled deeply, trying to get the smell of the sea out of my nose; however futile that might have been as we were standing by the sea.  
"Captain, thanks for everything. It was a fun trip." I heard Gon say, making me, my brother and Leorio all turn our heads over our shoulders to look at him. I wondered when Gon and the captain had gotten off of the boat; I never heard the ramp move or squeak. The captain removed the pipe from his mouth that was the first time I ever saw the pipe in his hand. He smiled widely at Gon, his pick red nose widening slightly as his mouth tugged at his face.  
"Well said, Gon. You enjoyed that harsh trip." The captain said, laughing loudly at the end of his sentence, his pipe hand dropping as he pushed his belly out. I looked at my brother through the corner of my eyes again; he looked serious once more, as if he didn't trust the captain one bit.

I removed my grip from the back of my brothers' tabard and drifted towards Gon and the Captain, interested in what they were saying. I could feel my brother watching me as I walked towards them, the captains' voice getting louder as I got closer.  
"Although, you've arrived at Dole Island's harbour, there are still more obstacles ahead." The captain said as I stepped next to Gon, looking up at him myself with an interested and fascinated gaze. The captain brought his pipe hand back up near his face once more as he looked between me and Gon.  
"Yes, I know." Gon said to the captain, nodding his head in the process. I heard more steps coming towards me and Gon and turned my head slightly to see Mr Leorio standing next to me, slouching over with his suitcase still knocking against the back of his shoulder. My brother had also come towards us, but still hung around in the back. He continued to have that same mistrusting gaze on the captain as before.  
"Not another lecture. We've heard enough on board." Mr Leorio complained to the captain, smiling widely at him as he tried to end the conversation early. The captain however took no notice of Mr Leorio's tone of voice and kept his eyes on me and Gon instead as we stared up to him.  
"Fine, but I'll tell you this one last thing." The captain said to Mr Leorio, nodding his head. The captain looked at Mr Leorio through the corner of his eyes, never moving his head an inch.  
"It's a "Special Service"." The captain said to Mr Leorio, emphasizing on the words "Special Service". Mr Leorio's eyes went wide in question of the captains emphasize.  
"Special Service?" Mr Leorio repeated after him, trying to get his head around what he heard. The rest of us stayed quiet, just waiting to hear what the captain had to say.

The captain turned away from me and Gon and pointed between my brother and Mr Leorio.  
"Look." He said simply. We followed his arm to where he was pointing. The captain was pointing to a hill. The hill was a right green colour; the clouds flew either side of it. Right on top of the big, green hill was a tree. What type of tree I couldn't quite see, but it was tall; it must had been growing here for many years.  
"Head for that tall tree. That's one of the short cuts to get to the Exam centre. If you understand, then get outta here." The captain explained to us. Me and Gon looked at each other wide eyed before looking back at the tree. I was trying to believe what he said…this could have been another test. Gon on the other hand looked like he believed every word the captain spoke. In a way, I wanted to myself, but my brother had taught me never to believe everything I heard.  
"The exam has already started." The captain said to us as he placed his pipe back into his mouth and began walking away from us. All four of us turned our heads to watch him walk away, Gon smiling widely while I was questionable. Was he really telling the truth?  
"Okay. Take care!" Gon shouted out after him. The captain huffed as he walked back to his boat, never taking the pipe out of his mouth.  
"You too guys." The captain said back to us in a muttered voice. I looked up to the boat to see the crew standing by, waiting for their captain. Katzo; the guy we had saved, waved his arm to us with a small smile. Gon waved back, throwing his arm into the air. I placed my hands in front of me as me and my brother bowed back, showing our thanks. Mr Leorio waved his hand slightly back, not as enthusiastically as Gon.  
"Bye everyone!" Gon yelled up at them happily, a wide smile on his face. I heard my brother turn around and looked over my shoulder slightly to see him walking away. I stood up straight and turned on the balls of my feet, following behind my brother. I heard more footsteps, meaning that Mr Leorio and Gon were following behind us.

The four of us made our way to a billboard that was swamped with people. I suddenly missed the smell of the ocean, as my senses became over whelmed with the smell of sweaty guys who smelt like they hadn't showered for who knew how long. We stood at the back and began pushing our way through the crowd to get to the front. I stood behind my brother as he excused himself past people, me in toe. Gon, being just that little bit taller than me, managed to squeeze past people while Mr Leorio just elbowed his way through. Once we were at the front, everybody left the billboard having gathered the information they needed. I felt slightly rude; if we waited for maybe a few seconds, they would have left anyway.

We looked at the giant bill boarded map. I kept the tight hold on my brothers' tabard as we stared at it. Zaban city was nowhere near the giant tree the captain was talking about in fact it was in the totally opposite direction. This "Shortcut" didn't seem very short at all.  
"Something's wrong. The exam centre's location, Zaban City, is in the opposite direction of the tall tree." Mr Leorio said to us in a disgruntled tone of voice. He dropped his arm from over his shoulder, letting his suitcase dangle beside him instead before putting onto the ground next to him, allowing him to shove his hand into his suit pocket.  
"You are right." My brother said. I looked up to him as Gon did the same, before the two of us looked over to the giant tree. I knew it was too good to be true…something like that had to be.  
"We'll probably just waste time. It's not a shortcut. We should head directly for Zaban City." Leorio said to us, continuing to stare hatefully at the map. I looked back at the map than at Mr Leorio. I wanted to say something but what was there too say? After all, he was probably right…I would have to wait on the decision of my brother, he knew best.

I heard footsteps come towards us and looked through the corner of my eyes. I couldn't see anyone, but I could hear them. Whoever it was were out of my line of sight.  
"If you're going to Zaban City, there's an express bus for it. The bus station is right over there." The man explained to Leorio. Mr Leorio turned around as we did the same. It was a man with short dark brown hair; he had no eyebrows and smirked at him with small eyes. His face looked really weird without eyebrows. He's nose was quite large and he wore very dark clothing consisting of a tatty dark grey over shirt with a darker grey shirt underneath. He's trousers were grey and he carried a stick on his back. Mr Leorio placed his hands on his hips as he glared at the man who came behind him.  
"Who are you?" He questioned him lowly, keeping his glare steady. The man didn't seemed fazed by Leorio's glare though…so far no one did, I was the only one that felt like I needed to hide away from him whenever he did glare.  
"I'm Mashu. I'm a rookie candidate like you guys. Nice to meet you." The man, who had introduced himself as Mr Mashu said to us. He held his hand out, which Gon took and shook with him. Gon smiled up at Mr Mashu widely, gripping the strap of his backpack tightly.  
"I'm Gon." Gon said to him. They released each others hand. Mr Mashu held out his hand to me. I just stared at it and instead stepped a little closer to my brother. He looked at me questionably before holding out a hand to my brother, who just stared at him.

Mr Mashu took his hand back, looking at us with hurt visible in his eyes. I really didn't want to shake his hands, I didn't like shaking other people's hands; I don't know why but it was actually frightening for me to do that. Mr Leorio scoffed slightly and looked at Mr Mashu with a smirk widely plastered on his face.  
"Don't worry about it. They're a little weird. I'm Leorio." Mr Leorio said to Mr Mashu, placing a hand onto the man's shoulder as he stood behind him. Mr Mashu dropped his arm back to his side again as he looked at Mr Leorio through the corner of his eyes.  
"By the way Mashu, are you going to use the bus too?" Mr Leorio questioned him. Mr Mashu turned his head slightly to face Leorio from over his shoulder, he disappointed and hurt look turning into a small, light smile.  
"Unfortunately, I hate riding the bus. Also, I've decided to go to the mountain with the tall tree." Mr Mashu explained to us. It took Leorio back by surprise, as he stood up straight and looked at Mr Mashu questionably, trying to figure out his reason.

Gon continued to smile up to the man as me and my brother stared at him. Mr Mashu was a very…how to put it…free willed man. He seemed happy go lucky that got disheartened quite easily by the smallest of things. That's what I got from him talking to us anyway.  
"So, you're going the same way I am." Gon said to him. Mr Mashu looked down at Gon with a wide smile on his face and lifted his hand up next to his face, as if holding something.  
"Oh! What a coincidence! I was looking for a companion. Let's go together, Gon." Mr Mashu said to Gon happily. Gon nodded his head agreeing. I looked between Gon and Mr Mashu, they got on well; I guess that was a good thing. But I wondered what me and my brother were going to do…were we taking the bus or were we going to the big tall tree? Mr Leorio slouched down slightly as he looked at Gon with wide eyes.  
"Are you sure?" Mr Leorio questioned him. Gon looked up to Mr Leorio as me and my brother stared at Gon. My brother kept a straight face as I looked at Gon with interest and curiosity, like a cat watching a moth by a flame.  
"I'm going to go the way the captain said. There must be a reason." Gon said to Mr Leorio. He turned on his heels and began walking away with Mr Mashu following him closely behind, leaving behind me, my brother and Mr Leorio.

Mr Leorio's eyes dropped as he stood up straight once more, looking at Gon with annoyance.  
"You should learn to be suspicious of people. I recommend going by bus." Mr Leorio said, smirking as he began turning away for the bus station. My brother looked down at me as I looked up at him. The two of us turned around and began walking away from Mr Leorio following after Gon and Mr Mashu.  
"H…hey, Kurapika, Mishka!" Leorio shouted after us, making the two of us stop. I let go of my brothers' tabard and turned around on the balls of my feet to face Mr Leorio as my brother kept his gaze forward, watching Gon and Mr Mashu, who had stopped once they heard Leorio call out for us.  
"I don't care what the captain said. But I'm interested in Gon's action. I'll hang out with him for a while." My brother said, keeping his eyes in front. I smiled slightly at Mr Leorio, keeping my hands in front of me.  
"I stick with big brothers decision. Plus, I think Gon is my age, so I really want to be friends with him. It was nice meeting you Mr Leorio." I said to him, bowing to him. I stood up straight and quickly turned around to follow my brother, Gon and Mr Mashu, leaving Mr Leorio behind who began muttering things to himself.  
"See ya! We've only been together for a short while, but take care!" I heard Mr Leorio shout over to us. Mr Mashu had stopped walking as me and my brother caught up with the two. I quickly stood next to my brother and Gon, as it would be easier to make conversation with the two than if I was just next to my brother.  
"Be careful, Leorio." I heard Mr Mashu shout over to Leorio, before hearing him walk quickly towards us. He stepped in between me and Gon, making me move closer to my brother and grab a hold of the back of his tabard tightly, keeping a fixed gaze on him before turning my head forwards to watch where I was walking.

Mr Mashu had soon moved behind us, which allowed me to move back beside Gon once more. I kept a small hold of my brothers' tabard as we walked, I didn't feel too comfortable about being followed by what could be seen as a total stranger. We walked in a nice little country side, the birds sang and the air was warm and fresh. Everything was so green, as if it had a nice little mixture of sun and rain. It looked very beautiful with just the few houses dotted here and there. Almost relaxing, save for the nearly complete stranger tagging along with us.  
"Hey, so Mishka, how old are you?" I heard Gon ask out of the blue. I turned my head to look at him, keeping the hold on my brothers' tabard. Gon was looking at me questionably, but also slightly excited for my answer. I couldn't help but smile slightly, just glad for the conversation instead of the awful silence.  
"I'm twelve. I turned twelve a few months ago. How old are you?" I asked him as we continued walking forward.  
"Really? I thought you were younger as you're kind of small. I mean, the top of your head comes to my shoulder." Gon said, referring to my height. My top eyelids dropped in annoyance as Gon looked away, keeping the smile on his face before turning his head back to me. I quickly perked up, smiling widely back at him to mask my annoyance of being referred to as "kind of small."  
"I'm twelve too. I didn't think I would see another kid here." Gon said to me, making me nod my head in agreement. I didn't expect to see another kid here either, seeing Gon was just a nice big surprise, and it made me feel slightly more comfortable about kids my age taking the exam.

Me and Gon had become quiet after our small talk. It was nice and pleasant and if anything we were enjoying each other's company as we now knew we were the same age. Our straight and level country side path soon started to angle in an upwards motion. Me, my brother and Gon didn't notice it so much but Mr Mashu did. The three of us stopped once we heard the thump on the ground. We turned our heads to see Mr Mashu sitting on the ground, grabbing his ankle with his teeth clenched.  
"Are you okay?" Gon asked Mr Mashu, walking over to him. Mr Mashu looked up at Gon, furrowing his brows with an apologetic smile on his face; a very small apologetic smile at that.  
"I'm sorry Gon; I've done something to my ankle. I can't put any weight on it, just leave me here and I'll catch up." Mr Mashu said to Gon. Gon shook his head and took off his backpack. He turned his head over his shoulder, looking at me with a small smile.  
"Mishka, could you take my bag for me. I'm going to carry Mr Mashu." Gon said to me. I nodded my head slightly and let go of the back of my brothers tabard and walked back down over to Gon and Mr Mashu. I took Gon's bag which had his fishing rod probing out of it and held it tightly between my hands. I slung one of the backpack straps across my shoulder as Gon helped Mr Mashu onto his back. Once Gon was ready we began walking up the hill.

I walked in the middle of my brother and Gon. My brother was up in front with Gon behind me. My brother had stopped after a while and looked behind him at me. I smiled a wide toothy smile at him before turning my head over my shoulder to try and see Gon. I saw Gon's head rolling over the top of the hill, Mr Mashu on his back who looked a little too comfortable. They began getting closer to us making small talk. I couldn't quite hear what they said, and when I turned to my brother he looked quite angry. I knitted my brows together as my brother began walking up the hill again, me close in toe with Gon close behind us. This Mr Mashu guy was causing a lot of trouble for someone who was only going to be a companion.  
"I have an idea. Wait a moment, Mr Mashu." Gon said as he began putting Mr Mashu back onto the floor. Mr Mashu looked up at Gon confused as he sat on the floor. Gon wondered over to me. I began taking off his backpack that I had strapped to one shoulder and held it out for him to take. Gon took it with a wide smile and began putting it back onto his shoulders.  
"What is it Gon?" Mr Mashu asked Gon. Gon turned his attention back to Mr Mashu, keeping the wide smile on his face and pointed his thumb over his shoulder.  
"There might be some herbs in the forest. I'll go get them." Gon said, turning around and running into the forest. Me, my brother and Mr Mashu watched as Gon ran into the forest to look for some herbs; he must know a lot about plant life to go off looking for them.  
"What are you saying? We shouldn't be wasting our time…" Mr Mashu said trailing off as Gon began disappearing into the thick wilderness. My brother turned his attention back to Mr Mashu as I did the same, lightly holding my hands behind my back slightly as I looked at the grown man sitting on the floor with his hurt ankle.  
"If you're in such a hurry, go by yourself. Later!" My brother said, smirking at Mr Mashu who looked up at him in shock. My brother turned around getting ready to walk away. I quickly faced Mr Mashu fully and placed my hands in front of me bowing slightly.  
"Bye bye Mr Mashu." I said to him, standing up straight and quickly jogging to my brothers' side. I smiled up widely at my brother as we began walking away to follow Gon on his journey for herbs. I still couldn't get my head around how my brother could be so rude sometimes, considering he told me to always be polite to everyone.

My brother grabbed a hold of my wrist and began pulling me away from the semi-path once we were out of sight of Mr Mashu. I followed him naturally, wondering what he was doing. We stood behind a tree. I watched as my brother placed a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. I nodded my head and pulled my lips inwards, keeping myself quiet. I copied him and looked in the direction he was looking at. Mr Mashu was up and walking, well, running away from a grey Rhino. He pulled out two long sticks, holding them out in front of him. My brother nodded his head, indicating that now was time for us to move. I nodded my head and followed my brother from behind the tree.  
"Put those away!" My brother said, glaring at Mr Mashu. I looked at him sternly myself, keeping my hands by my sides as I stood next to my brother, watching Mr Mashu through his back.  
"It's the Rhino's home you're upsetting it." I said him sternly. Mr Mashu gasped and turned his head slightly to look at us, a little too unsure as to what was happening and where we had exactly come from.  
"You can't use them properly anyways." My brother finished off as I nodded my head agreeing with him. Mr Mashu's weapons were very similar to my brothers. The only difference being that my brother knew how to wield his and Mr Mashu obviously didn't. Plus my brothers were a lot shorted than his.

I heard footsteps and saw the bush move. I turned my attention to it and saw the familiar tuffs of green and black poking out before revealing the familiar looking Gon. Gon began walking towards the Rhino, Mr Mashu looking at him in shock.  
"H…hey." Mr Mashu stuttered, surprised to see Gon even here. Gon stopped in front of the Rhino, holding his fishing rod tightly as he stared at the beast.  
"Gon! It's already enraged. We must kill it." My brother said, making me look at him with wide eyes. He had drawn his weapons and stepped in front of me, holding his weapons in a cross in front of him. Spiders I could understand, everything else I couldn't. I knitted my brows together and frowned widely, there had to be another way surely.  
"Wait, Kurapika. It's just mad because it thinks we're going to take over its territory." Gon said as if it was common knowledge. I watched Gon closely from behind my brother as he crouched down slightly, holding onto his weapons tightly. Gon stepped closer to the Rhino as it growled angrily at us getting ready to attack.  
"Calm down, we won't do anything. We don't intend to take over your territory. So please…" Gon began speaking to the Rhino. I heard footsteps behind me and then saw a massive shadow fly over the top of us.  
"Watch out, Gon! Take this!" The familiar voice of Mr Leorio shouted as he landed in front of Gon and whacked the Rhino over the head with his suit case. I gasped slightly to myself at what Mr Leorio had done as everyone else looked just as confused. That's when the Rhino growled angrily at Mr Leorio and began chasing him.

I turned my head to watch as Mr Leorio ran quickly away from the Rhino. I didn't know he could run that fast. Mr Leorio screamed as he ran from the angry grey Rhino.  
"Don't follow me!" Mr Leorio yelled as he tried to get away from the beast. Me, Gon and my brother stood in shock and question, all wondering the same thing.  
"Why did he come here?" My brother questioned as me and Gon remained quiet, watching Mr Leorio being chased by the angry grey Rhino.  
"Maybe we should help him now." I suggested to the two. Gon nodded his head and began walking in the direction that the Rhino chased Mr Leorio in. I saw my brother put his weapons away underneath his tabard once more through the corner of my eyes, before walking with me behind Gon to try and help Mr Leorio.

We finally managed to find Mr Leorio. He had climbed a tree and stood on the branch, leaning against the trunk with the hand that held his suitcase. Me and Gon looked up at him wide eyed as the Rhino kept growling at him, threatening Mr Leorio to make one move. Gon held his fishing rod over his shoulder as we stared at Leorio in the tree. Me and Gon stood next to each other with the Rhino standing next to Gon, it was acting like a puppy following it's owner.  
"How was the bus ride Mr Leorio?" I called up to him. Mr Leorio scratched his cheek slightly with his finger and closed his eyes, smiling widely to himself; although the smile seemed a little bit more on the ticked off side than happy side.  
"It was a trap." He said to us. Me and Gon looked at him questionably, before looking at each other slightly and then looking back up to Mr Leorio.  
"The bus was a trap?" Gon questioned after him, making sure what he heard was correct. Mr Leorio nodded his head and began tapping the side of his head, never opening his eyes once. It was like he was terrified of seeing the Rhino.  
"Yeah. It was terrible." Mr Leorio said down to us. I heard footsteps behind me looked behind me slightly to see Mr Mashu had finally caught up with us. He and my brother stood next to each other as they stared up at the tree, watching Mr Leorio who was being kept hostage by an angry Rhino.  
"So, you shamelessly came back to follow Gon, Leorio?" I heard my brother say, smugness in his tone of voice. Mr Leorio opened his eyes to look at my brother as he held a hand out to his side, explaining his reason of coming back.  
"It's not like that. I thought you guys would be lonely without me. They say "Go with companions on journeys"." Mr Leorio said, laughing at the end of his sentence. Mr Leorio closed his eyes again as he turned to face me and Gon.  
"So, PLEASE Gon! Get rid of that Rhino!" Mr Leorio said angrily to Gon, quickly turning around when he caught eye contact with the grey beast. I couldn't help but laugh at Mr Leorio's reaction to the Rhino, it wasn't that bad once Gon had gotten it under control.

Gon began talking to the Rhino, explaining to it that Mr Leorio didn't mean to hit it on the head with his suitcase; he was just being clumsy. He also explained to the Rhino that we were definitely not interested in taking over its territory. The Rhino seemed to accept this and began walking away from us, wondering back into the tree thickened forest. I walked back over next to the my brother, watching as the Rhino left us behind to go and do whatever it was Rhino's did. Gon waved to the Rhino smiling widely as he watched it leave.  
"See ya!" Gon shouted over to the Rhino. My brother, Mr Leorio and Mr Mashu didn't looked all to impressed, then again my brother was still cautious of Mr Mashu and Mr Leorio was chased up the tree by the Rhino; so I wouldn't expect him to be too thrilled to see it even if it was leaving.  
"When are we going to stop wasting time here?" Mr Mashu questioned making Gon stop his waving and look at him questionably. I looked up at him myself, he had his arms crossed and the look of disappointed sketched into his face.  
"Someone else might have gotten ahead of us by now. If you had just followed what I said, we wouldn't have gotten into that dangerous situation." Mr Mashu said, turning his attention away from Gon and towards the floor instead. Gon walked back over to us, taking his stand next to Mr Leorio who looked at Mr Mashu just as confused as me.  
"But it turned out alright. We've met up with Leorio again… and it seems that Mr Mashu's leg got better." Gon said to Mr Mashu. I smiled widely at the grown man as he twitched his leg slightly, looking slightly embarrassed by the fact he was now standing on, what was, his bad leg.  
"Aren't YOU glad, Mr Mashu?" My brother said in a mocking voice, a smirk plastered over his face. Not only was he mocking Mr Mashu but also Gon by the way he called him; however Gon didn't seem to notice and kept the wide, unfaltering smile on his face.

We began making our journey back towards the giant tree that the captain told us to go. The scenery soon began changing from a nice green field to concrete; the air filling with tension that felt thick and unsettling. We were a long way from the harbour and a long way from anything that was comforting.

Our small group stood in front of a town. It looked abandoned. Crows sat on the clothes wires that swayed up high from the town ground. They cried their bird song as we began walking through the narrow streets of the town, taking in the sites. What happened here to make it like this? To make it become utterly abandoned?  
"This sure is a creepy place. I can't even see one person." Mr Leorio complained, taking the lead of our group of five. He looked around the place as the rest of us stayed glued to the spot. I couldn't help but grab onto the back of my brothers tabard, stepping behind him slightly as I took in the creepy atmosphere.  
"But, there ARE a lot of people." Gon said, making me look around trying to find these people. I couldn't see anyone; but if I really listened carefully, I could only just about hear the scatterings of feet against the concrete.  
"Yeah. Don't let your guard down." My brother said, looking to his left to try and spot any signs of life. Mr Leorio jumped slightly on the spot and began to frantically look around for any signs of life in a panicked state.  
"How do you guys know?" Mr Leorio asked, trying to spot the mystery people. I closed my eyes slightly and concentrated hard, picking up on the slight scatterings of feet on concrete, I couldn't hear anything else; that was the most obvious one to me.

I looked over to Mr Leorio as Gon and my brother did the same. Mr Leorio was slouched over, his suit case back to being held behind his back. Mr Mashu stood next to my brother, making me swap sides and stand next to Gon, keeping myself behind my brother slightly with my tight grip on the back of his tabard.  
"You can hear them breathing from all over the place." My brother pointed out, smirking over to Mr Leorio. Gon looked to his right, the questioning look still evident on his face.  
"I also hear rags being dragged around. I wonder if they're hiding?" Gon said than asked. I nodded my head, continuing to stare at the back of Mr Leorio's head as he stayed slouched over.  
"If you listen really carefully, you can hear their feet against the concrete." I said to Mr Leorio, looking around wide eyed in hopes of maybe catching a glimpse of someone. Mr Leorio placed a hand by his ear, trying to echo any sounds that might be about. He turned around and closed his eyes, looking annoyed as he dropped his hand slightly, keeping it away from his face.  
"Unfortunately, I'm a normal human being." Mr Leorio said to us, making me look at him questionably. I was a normal human being as well, I just had very good hearing if I concentrated hard enough and blocked out everything else around me…Maybe Mr Leorio didn't clean his ears out well enough to hear as well as the rest of us.

I heard Gon smile to himself and watched as he began running away from us and towards an alley. I looked at him questionably as he stopped in front of the alleyway.  
"Gon!" My brother shouted after him. Gon pointed down the alleyway as my brother began running towards him, pulling me behind him, making me follow him. I let go of his tabard as I ran behind him, catching up to where Gon was.  
"Grandma, I found you!" Gon said happily, a wide smile on his face. Me and my brother stopped just short of next to Gon as Mr Leorio stopped next to us. We looked at the alleyway with wide eyes, questioning why there was an old lady standing there. She had grey hair and two protruding front teeth. Her eyes were small and beady. She wore blue pray beads with a green vest jacket and dark pink dress. In her hand she held a cane, probably used for walking. Her other hand was behind her back.  
"H…Hey." Mr Mashu stuttered, making us drag our attention away from the elderly lady. Surrounding us was people, all wearing white masks with black holes to let them see. Their hair was scraggy; each of them had a different colour. They wore what looked like white bed sheets but it was probably fair from that. I couldn't help but step behind my brother once more, grabbing tightly onto his tabard as I stared at them; something about them made me scared.  
"What are these guys?" Mr Leorio demanded, his voice growing angry as he glared at the people in white bed sheets. I couldn't help but agree with his question though…what were they? And why were they here? And why was the elderly lady hiding in the alley way? Did they scare here? Did she scare them? So many questioned ran through my mind and I didn't know what one to ask first.

We stayed in silence as we stared at the people in white bed sheets. They began chanting at the same time, their chant getting louder and louder as they spoke and yet they only said one thing. That one thing was "Doki Doki." It was unnerving in some way, hearing that chant just get louder and louder each time they said it.  
"Doki. Doki. Doki. Doki. Doki-te. What's with these guys?! Hey Mashu! Are you sure this is the right way?" Mr Leorio repeated after the chanters and then said to Mr Mashu angrily. I looked up to Mr Mashu myself, keeping myself behind my brother, but not so much that I couldn't see the walking, masked, bed sheeted people.  
"Yeah. I'm very sure. But, if you want to go another way, I won't stop you." Mr Mashu said to Mr Leorio. I looked up at my brother, he glared at Mr Mashu. I knew that glare, he thought Mr Mashu was up to know good; which is why he stared at him from time to time to make sure he didn't try anything suspicious.  
"Then I guess I'll go another way. I'm sick of these stupid traps. That bus was enough for me." Mr Leorio said as he turned around on the balls of his feet, a glare sitting on his face as. He stuffed his hand into his suit trouser pocket and began walking away from Mr Mashu.

My brother turned his sight forwards, watching Mr Leorio but also watching the people that stood before us in the white bed sheets. I watched Mr Leorio as he began walking closer and closer towards me and my brother, looking very annoyed about the whole situation.  
"Wait Leorio. As Mashu says, this is the right way." My brother said to Mr Leorio as he began walking past us. Mr Leorio turned to my brother, looking at him in disbelief. I nodded my head, agreeing with my brother as I stared up at Mr Leorio.  
"Because, the other paths had signs of dangerous animals and beasts. So, we avoided those dangerous paths, went straight for the tall tree, and ended up here." Gon explained to Mr Leorio as I nodded my head again, agreeing with Gon; finding it better to keep quiet. Mr Leorio dropped his eyelids as he looked at me annoyed and turned back around, his body facing Mr Mashu's back.  
"Got something to say instead of nodding?" He questioned me, annoyance laced in his voice. I thought about it for a second and then shook my head, turning my attention back to the bed sheeted people. Mr Leorio pointed towards the people in front of him, his eyes wide in annoyance.  
"All right then. Then, who are these guys? Isn't it another trap?" Mr Leorio questioned us loudly, never taking his eyes off of us as he kept his finger pointed at the group of people with different coloured hair and white bed sheets.

The old lady began walking in front of us, using her cane as a walking stick. She walked straight for someone who looked quite elderly; she must have worked hard when she was a little girl to walk with a straight posture now.  
"You guys… If you're heading for the tall tree, you'll never get to it unless you go through this city. The other pathways are like mazes. Plus, ferocious animals and beasts await you. The boy there is correct." The old lady explained to us as she stopped in front of the bed sheeted people. They stopped their chant once she stood in front of them. Her voice sounded horsed and forced, as if she had been talking for days without drinking any water to "Wettern her whistle", as Jerome used to say. She narrowed her eyes as she turned them to Gon almost slyly and maybe a bit surprised and cautious. Gon looked at her with wide eyes, his grip on his fishing rod only tightening.  
"Look! It's the same mark the captain had." Gon said to us. I followed his line of sight and saw what he was looking at. The old ladies stick had the Hunter symbol on it, just sitting underneath the giant red ball that sat on top of the stick. My eyes went wide in surprise; I wasn't expecting someone who looked so old to be a Hunter examiner.  
"I see. This old lady… So, this is another test for the Hunter Exam." My brother said, trying to get his head around it.  
"I wasn't expecting that…does that mean all the people behind her are examiners too?" I questioned, keeping the tight hold on my brothers tabard as I stared up at him and then at Gon, trying to see if one of them knew the answer. It became clear that they didn't when my question went unanswered. I heard Mr Leorio growl in the back of his throat, his eyes glaring at the old lady who stood before us.  
"This old lady is an examiner too?" Mr Leorio questioned. However, his too remained unanswered as the old lady started the chant of "Doki doki" once more. The people in the masks and bed sheets began repeating after her, their chanting getting louder again as they spoke.

We stayed quiet as the chant continued. It unnerved me and just made me step behind my brother that little bit more. I held onto the back of his tabard tightly with one hand, and held onto the sleeve of his training shirt with the other, staring at the old lady and chanters from behind his arm.  
"HEART POUNDING TWO CHOIZE QUIZ!" The old woman shouted at us, her eyes widening to something I didn't think she would be able to do. I couldn't help but jump at the sudden shout. Her shouting took the others back by surprise, making us stare at her in silence until Mr Leorio decided to speak up.  
"Quiz?" Mr Leorio questioned, his voice filled with shock at the old lady's outburst.  
"I'll now give you one question. You have five seconds to think about it. If you get it wrong, you're disqualified. If so, then you better give up becoming a Hunter." The old lady explained to us. I knitted my brows together and frowned widely at her; so that's how it was going to be.

I looked at Mr Mashu, who seemed unfazed by the elderly ladies explanation or the fact that it was a quiz, almost has if he was expecting it. In fact, he was smirking.  
"Answer with either a one or two. Any other answers will be wrong." The elderly lady said to us. I thought over her words, did that mean we had the same question and would be answering together? I looked at her through questioning, furrowed brows, trying to come to the answer that sounded right.  
"Hey. Wait a sec. You're giving one question to all four of us?" Mr Leorio questioned her, raising an eyebrow in question.  
"It's easier that way." The elderly lady said to us. Mr Leorio pointed to my brother, bending down slightly to become the same height as him. It only resulted in my brother throwing a glare his way, not happy about being pointed at.  
"If he gets it wrong, that means I'll be disqualified too!" Mr Leorio pointed out. My brother stopped glaring at Mr Leorio and looked at him bored, his top eyelids dropping slightly as his eyes became sharp; as if he was annoyed by Mr Leorio. I didn't get it, I thought they were friends now…I guess they weren't.  
"That's not possible. It makes me want to cry, since the possibility of the other case is much higher." My brother said flatly to Mr Leorio, who didn't seem to appreciate having his intelligence questioned. I tugged on my brothers' tabard slightly, gaining his attention. He looked at me questionably.  
"I thought you and Mr Leorio were friends now." I said to him. My brother shook his head at my words, making me sigh slightly and nod my head quickly in understanding. It wasn't easy to make friends for my brother; I should have expected it if anything.  
"But, that means only one of us has to get the correct answer, it's easy. Plus, I'm not good with quizzes." Gon said cheerfully laughing at the end of his sentence, as if nothing was actually riding on us answering the question right or wrong. I couldn't help but smile widely at Gon's attitude; I wasn't bad at quizzes, it depended on what they were. History was a no, religion and culture however I liked to think I was pretty good at.

Gon's laughter was cut short and my smiling had stopped once Mr Mashu began speaking once more, finally speaking up after staying silent for who knew how long. He was silent as we travelled here, and only spoke when the people in bed sheets came out…Mr Mashu was a very odd man now that I re-thought over my previous thoughts of him.  
"Sorry. I'll go first. Okay, old lady?" Mr Mashu said, placing his hands on his hips as he walked closer to the old lady examiner. I looked at him confused and wide eyed as Gon did the same; we could probably use this to our advantage; know what the question was going to be.  
"I see that you must have a lot of confidence. I don't mind." The old lady said, her frown turning into a very sly smile. Mr Mashu leaned forward, a wide smile on his face as his eyes went wide with excitement about proceeding further than us.  
"Then it's settled." Mr Mashu said to the old lady. He turned his head towards us and smirked, muttering words that I couldn't hear to himself. Gon looked confused and hurt by whatever Mr Mashu was saying; sadly I hadn't been paying enough attention to pick it up.  
"Mr Mashu?" Gon questioned him, hurt evident in his voice as he spoke to the older man. Mr Mashu laughed to himself once more, his smirk staying plastered on his face as he looked at us.  
"Unfortunately, I had no intentions to become friends with you guys. As long as I got to this city safely, it was okay with me." Mr Mashu said to us, turning his gaze back to the old lady and standing up straight. The smirk never leaving his face as he continued to speak to us, explaining to us about himself.  
"I'm good at using my head. I have no use for you guys." Mr Mashu said to us, never turning his eyes back to us.

I frowned widely at his words. Mr Leorio seemed angry with Mr Mashu; and who could blame him? He was brushing us off to the side as if we were nothing more than a piece of garbage stuck to the bottom of his shoe, or an annoying fly that wouldn't leave him alone.  
"What? You bastard!" Mr Leorio said bitterly and angrily to him. I looked up to my brother as I felt him shift slightly. The frown on my brothers' face had turned into a smirk as he looked at Mr Mashu through the corner of his eyes.  
"Leave him alone. If we know the first question, we can use it as an example." My brother said, making me smile widely. He had thought of the same thing I did; use this question to help us. It would give us an idea how to answer. I heard the crows cry once more, making me snap my head in their direction. They had gathered around on the wires above us…crows meant death was near or had happened…did someone die? Was someone going to die? I hoped not.  
"That's true, but…" Mr Leorio began saying before trailing off in his sentence, not too sure how to answer. Mr Mashu laughed and leaned forward once more, smirking at the old lady. He was eager to get away from us, I could tell by how he was standing.  
"Hurry up, old lady." Mr Mashu demanded of the old lady. She remained unfazed by his attitude. She stared him dead in the eye, thoughts whirling through her mind until she found one that she could work with. He face never changed expression; it was as if she wasn't interested.  
"Here's the question: Your mother and your lover are being held captive by crooks, and you can only help one of them. One, your mother. Two, your lover. Which would you help?" The old lady asked Mr Mashu. I looked at her wide eyed, it was going to be one of those questions…how could you answer that? I thought over the question myself, trying to come up with an answer. I suspected mother, as she was the one who brought you into the world and I didn't know what a lover was but they sounded important to have been included in the quiz.

Mr Mashu, for the first time since we arrived here, seemed shocked and taken back by the old lady's question. I shifted my weight slightly as I tried to think of the answer myself, I just couldn't think of one; mother sounded right. I looked at my brother for help, but he seemed unfazed and stared at the old lady with his usual cold expression. Mr Mashu began smirking to himself and placed a hand onto his chin, looking confident in whatever answer he chose.  
"Answer within five seconds. Five… Four…" The old lady began counting down, never taking her eyes off Mr Mashu.  
"One!" Mr Mashu declared, starting at the old lady with a wide and confident smile, his eyes lightening up; happy about the answer he had chosen. He had chosen mother, which was the answer I too was leaning towards. The old lady however seemed unfazed by his change of attitude; she kept the same facial expression, one of boredom.  
"And why do you think so?" The old lady questioned him. Mr Machi kept his wide smile as he looked at the old lady, pretty confident looking in his answer.  
"Because, there is only one mother in this world. I can just find another lover." Mr Mashu said to the old lady. She turned away from him and began walking towards the group with masks and bed sheets. They whispered among themselves. I could only assume they were discussing his answer. I was still confused though; whatever this lover was must have been important. We stared at the group. The old lady came back to Mr Mashu, the group of people splitting in the middle forming a path for him to take.  
"Go through." The old lady said to him simply, making Mr Mashu laugh in his success. Mr Mashu began walking down the middle of the split groups, before spotting and turning his head over his shoulder to look at us.  
"I'll see you guys later." Mr Mashu said to us and gave an unmoving wave with a smirk. He turned around and began running down the middle, leaving the four of us to watch his retreating back. I frowned widely; this quiz was going to be quite hard if it was those types of questions.

The people were bed sheets formed into one massive group again once Mr Mashu was out of sight and ideally out of mind.  
"Stop shitting with us! There's no such quiz! Even if we help the lover, can you justify it's not the wrong thing, old lady? There's no correct answer to this kind of quiz. Or do you want us to answer according to your point of view? I'm going back! I'll go through another route." Mr Leorio ranted. He first stayed where he was, then moved closer to the old lady before finally turning around to walk away from the old lady, all in the space of a minute as he ranted. I watched as the old lady smirked and laughed slightly to herself, not fazed by Mr Leorio's rant on the whole situation.  
"Too late! If you forfeit the quiz, you'll be disqualified." The old lady said as Mr Leorio began walking away. However, those words made Mr Leorio stop in his tracks and look over his shoulder at the old lady. She was smirking; as if she knew something like this would happen.  
"You don't have what it takes to become a Hunter." The old lady said to Mr Leorio, mocking him about becoming a Hunter. I thought it was slightly harsh, anybody could become a Hunter if they wanted to; it shouldn't matter to the examiners just who was becoming the Hunter.

I gasped slightly to myself and looked up at my brother, hearing him gasp as well. He looked down at me, confirming that we had heard the same noise. It was so loud and sudden, it pierced my ear drums…maybe I was subconsciously expecting something to happen to Mr Mashu in order to hear that scream. Gon began walking in the direction it was coming from, only to be stopped by my brother.  
"Gon. Leorio!" My brother said, placing a hand onto Gon's shoulder and turning his attention to Mr Leorio. Mr Leorio looked at my brother with a heavy glare, not happy about the information he was told.  
"What?! You want me to continue with this stupid quiz?" Mr Leorio questioned my brother. My brother looked at Mr Leorio sternly as he let go of Gon's shoulder. Me and Gon looked at each other, frowning widely about the sound we heard, before turning our attention back to my brother and Mr Leorio.  
"This quiz is-"  
"Wait!" The old lady said, interrupting my brother, making him gasp at the sudden sound. All of us turned our attention back to the old lady who stood there smirking widely at us through her beady little eyes.  
"I won't allow any more chatting. If you say anything else, I'll disqualify you." The old lady said to my brother, smirking widely to herself. I felt my brother tense up at her words and looked up at him. He was glaring at the old lady, his teeth gritted hard together and fists clenched. He was not happy with the situation he had been placed into.  
"Now, answer! One to take the quiz. Two don't take it." The old lady demanded from us.  
"One!" My brother answered almost instantly. I heard a growl come from Mr Leorio. I held onto my brothers tabard and sleeve a little bit tighter because of the sound, Mr Leorio angry was not a pretty sight.

I could feel my brother shift as he looked between all of us. I wondered what he was thinking. I looked at Gon, who looked slightly confused about everything that was going on. I looked back at the old lady to see her smirk was gone but instead replaced with a frown.  
"Okay, here's the question. Your son and daughter have been kidnapped. You can only take one back. One, your daughter. Two, your son. Which one will you take back?" The old lady questioned us. I gasped slightly at her question…what kind of question was that?! How could you answer that?! Well the simple answer was that you couldn't answer it that was an impossible choice to make. And that's when it hit me…you can't answer the questions she gives you! I saw Mr Leorio through the corner of my eyes walk towards a pile of wooden sticks that were laid lazily against the wall.  
"Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Time's up." The old lady said, ending her count down to five. Mr Leorio ran towards her then stopped in front of her, glaring at her as if she was the most evilest being on the earth, his free hand dug deeply into his suit trouser pocket.

He raised his arm holding one of the wooden panels above his head. It looked like he was going to smack the poor old lady.  
"Eat this!" Mr Leorio yelled at her. The old lady however just smirked at him; it was as if she just saw him as a spoiled child that didn't get his own way. I heard a small giggle come from her as she continued to smirk at him.  
"Is that your answer?" The old lady questioned him. I felt my brother move forward slightly, glaring heavily at Mr Leorio.  
"Leorio!" My brother demanded from him. Mr Leorio's arm began shaking until he finally brought his arm down to his side, his teeth staying gritted as he glared hatefully at the old lady, who just continued to smirk at him.  
"Damn it. Quit having fun and giving these stupid questions with no answers. "You can't become a Hunter if you can't answer"? Fine!" Mr Leorio shouted at the old lady, pointing the large stick at her and then swinging it across his body. He continued to glare at her as my brother continued to glare at Mr Leorio; looking and sounding unimpressed by his actions.  
"Calm down, Leorio." My brother tried reasoning with him. However, it seemed like Mr Leorio was going to have none of it. He ignored my brothers' protests and continued to glare hatefully at the old lady who was just doing her job.  
"Shut up! I'll beat up this old hag and bring her to the exam centre… and I'm going to beat up all the arrogant examiners and give 'em a piece of me! What does THIS have to do with becoming a Hunter? This is required to become a Hunter? Don't make me laugh!" Mr Leorio ranted at the old lady, explaining what his little plan was and just generally sounding ticked off with the whole entire world.

My brother began walking forward, pulling his clothing out from my grasp. I stood on the spot as he walked towards Mr Leorio, deciding to stay next to Gon as that was the next best thing to coverage should anything go wrong.  
"We passed. Are you trying to ruin it? We passed the test, Leorio." My brother said to Mr Leorio. Mr Leorio looked at him in shock, his eyes going wide as he stood up straight, waiting to hear from my brother how we had passed. I had figured it out like my brother, although it was probably my brother who had figured it out first.  
"Silence… was the correct answer. As you said before, there can't be a right answer. So, there is no correct answer. But since you can only answer with "one" or "two", that means silence is the only answer. My brother explained to Mr Leorio, a smirk evident in his voice. He placed his finger onto his lips, emphasizing the important of silence. Mr Leorio didn't seem pleased with the answer and pointed to where Mr Mashu had ran off to.  
"But Mashu seemed to get it right." Mr Leorio interjected, trying to come up with a counter argument to my brothers' answer. My brother remained unfazed as he continued looking forward at all the bed sheet covered people.  
"They didn't say it was correct. They only said, "Go through". I heard him scream a moment ago. He was probably attacked by an animal. He tried to outsmart us, but ended up digging his own grave." My brother explained some more. I furrowed my brows at my brothers' choice of words…it wasn't the most pleasant imagery I needed in my mind in fact it sounded rather gruesome. I couldn't help but shiver slightly from the words; they sent a chill down my spine.  
"That means this path is not the correct one." My brother explained to Mr Leorio, who looked dumbstruck by his entire explanation.

We stayed in silence; allowing Mr Leorio to soak in his knew found information. However our silence was cut off short when the old lady began speaking.  
"Correct." The old lady said simply. I heard a clicking noise and looked over to the source. Two of the bed sheeted people were opening up giant, metal doors. They clanged against the wall and made squeaking noises…they couldn't probably do with some oil. The doors itself was a very dark green in colour; how I didn't notice it I wouldn't know.  
"The real path is this way." The old lady said to us as the doors were fully opened. We looked down the dark path way. At the end of the tunnel was a bright, shining, white light. It looked tiny compared to the giant door but at least we knew the tunnel was straight. There wasn't going to be any sudden turns.  
"It's a straight path. You should get to the top of the mountain if you walk for two hours." The old lady explained to us. I smiled widely at the path; that meant we could carry on getting to the Hunter Exam. Mr Leorio didn't seem to share my excitement; instead he just stared at the path with wide eyes and disbelief.  
"Silence is the correct answer?" Mr Leorio questioned, staring at the long two hour tunnel.  
"If you still don't understand, then take this old lady anywhere you want." The old lady said to Mr Leorio. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, waiting to be taken somewhere, anywhere that may be.

I heard Mr Leorio sigh. He threw his wooden stick to the ground and smiled widely at the old lady; no longer feeling hate towards her, he anger, or anything that would make him do something rash and possibly unforgiven to the old lady.  
"Old lady, I'm sorry." Mr Leorio apologized to her. The old lady just smiled widely at him, her eyes dropping as her beady eyes looked joyful at his apology. It almost seemed like she didn't get enough apologies in her life time and just one was enough to make her day.  
"There's no need to apologize. I do this job because I want to meet guys like you. Do your best to become a good Hunter." The old lady said to Mr Leorio, her smile just getting wider at him. Mr Leorio smiled back and nodded his head, going with the old ladies wish. I couldn't help but smile myself; it was nice seeing our little odd group getting along with each other; even if all our relationships was love or hate.  
"Go. A married couple living in the house under the tall tree are Navigators. If they think you're qualified, they should take you to the exam centre." The old lady said to us, leading us over to the door. We nodded our heads and began walking down the long two hour path way, entering the darkness. The doors behind us began shutting, destroying whatever light that was coming from behind us. It made the tunnel suddenly that much smaller and I was feeling quite uncomfortable about it.

We walked down the long pathway. I had jogged up a little to walk beside Gon. Once I was at the same pace as him we smiled widely at each other; glad for one another's company. Children company was different from adult company, use spending time together allowed us to be kids once more. I heard Gon sigh to himself slightly before turning his head to face the rest of us from over his shoulder.  
"I still can't think of an answer." Gon said, making me look at him in question. I heard my brother chuckle under his breath about Gon's scenario. Mr Leorio had let out a giant laugh, not understanding why Gon was trying to think of an answer. If I was honest, I didn't know too; I just wanted to know what a lover was and what made them so important.  
"You are still thinking about it? You don't have to think about it anymore." Mr Leorio said to Gon, shoving a hand into his suit trouser pocket. Gon looked up at Leorio confused as I kept my eyes forward, watching the light at the end of the tunnel growing bigger and bigger, even if it was just by a fraction.  
"The quiz is over. We passed." Mr Leorio explained to Gon. Gon turned his head back towards the light at the end of the tunnel once more, letting Mr Leorio's words sink in before he decided to speak up.  
"I know that." Gon pointed out to him. Mr Leorio and my brother had stopped walking, letting me and Gon walk a little bit before I noticed that they stopped walking. I stopped walking myself and looked at Gon's retreating back.  
"Then why are you still thinking?" Mr Leorio questioned Gon. Gon stopped walking and turned his attention to Mr Leorio, his face no longer smiling but instead showing one of confusion and question; maybe a lack of understanding anything that was happening or going on.  
"But what would you do if we run into a situation where we can only save one important person when two are held hostage?" Gon asked the three of us. I looked at him, furrowing my brows slightly, he raised a good point…what would I do? Naturally I would always say my big brother, but what if it was this lover that seemed so important to the old lady to even mention in the quiz, what would I do then?

Gon had taken off ahead of us, running for the exit of the long hall way, leaving the rest of us behind to think or continue walking behind him. I began moving forward first, trying to think over everything. There was a lot more involved in this Hunter exam than I first thought and suddenly I didn't feel like I was prepared for it at all.


	4. Lies x Truth? x Kiriko

Big thank you to Anime lover and all silent readers!  
**Anime lover – **1999 version of Mishka drawn in profile.  
Sorry I haven't updated! I haven't been in a great place recently and totally lost inspiration for my stories. I hope to continue them in due time but for now this one will be focused on while I re-write 2011.

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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We had been walking inside the dark tunnel for a while. I had decided to walk in front of everybody, taking up a space next to Gon who was also walking in front of everybody. I could barely see one foot in front of me, I was literally taking in the fact that I hadn't fallen over something yet as a sign that the path was clear of debris. Still…it had been about two hours and we were still travelling. When that old lady said "two hours", did she mean running two hours? That was the only thing I could think of and it made sense in my mind.  
"Hey, Kurapika. That old woman spoke about a "Navigator". What is that?" Gon questioned my brother, looking at him from the corner of his eyes. I heard my brother hum to himself as he thought about the answer, although it was short; meaning the answer come quite quickly to him.  
"The site for the Hunter Exam changes every year. The navigator perceives the exact location and leads prospective applicants to the site. They say it's nearly impossible to the Exam Hall without their guidance." My brother said to us. I turned my head slightly over my shoulder to look at him, before arching my back a little bit to look behind him. Mr Leorio was lagging behind us, his suitcase over his shoulder and a rather annoyed look on his face.  
"Simply, we must find the navigator in order to reach the Exam Hall. And we must make them recognise our talent and skills…" My brother said, walking slightly faster. He stepped in between me and Gon. I turned my attention away from Mr Leorio and looked at my brother, before looking forward once more. It was still really dark; but it was becoming lighter.  
"Really. It sounds very complicated." Gon said as he turned his head to the front of him too. I nodded my head agreeing with him; the exam did sound very complicated and if they kept adding in more little bits every now and again I was going to go mad.

Silence fell between the three of us for not even a minute until it was disrupted by Mr Leorio's voice calling out from behind us.  
"Didn't we reach the exit yet?" Mr Leorio complained making the three of us turn our heads to face him over our shoulders. He dropped his suitcase to the floor and placed his hands onto his knees in annoyance, leaning himself forward as if he was out of breath.  
"To hell with "it takes two hours by walking!" Two hours passed two hours ago. I'm getting hungry. And I want to relieve myself, too." My Leorio complained behind us. I quickly turned around on the balls of my feet and placed my hands either side of my mouth as I walked backwards, starting at Mr Leorio's slowly distancing body.  
"The lady didn't say anything about it taking two hours by walking!" I yelled over to him. I dropped my hands and swung myself back round once more, letting my arms dangle by my sides as I sped up a little bit to keep up with Gon and my brother.  
"We'll leave you!" Gon shouted back to Mr Leorio, turning his head over his shoulder once more. I turned my head over my shoulder again to see him still sitting on the ground, his arm lazily over his knee. He looked really worn out.  
"Let's take a break." Mr Leorio shouted back to us.  
"Hey, the exit is right over there." Gon shouted back to him, pointing his free hand in front of us. I turned my head around and sure he was right. The light was becoming brighter and brighter with each step we took; I couldn't help but smile to myself, exited to finally be out of this cave soon.  
"What?! Why didn't you say so sooner?!" Mr Leorio shouted back at us. Gon began turning his head forward again as I heard footsteps trample their way forward in a rush.

Mr Leorio ran in between Gon and my brother as he rushed out of the cave. It looked like he really needed to pee. However, he stopped very short and instead just stood outside the cave entrance, looking at the lake that sparkled in the moons light. The three of us caught up with him rather quickly and stopped either side of him. The waters looked calm, refreshing, it looked beautiful under the moons light.  
"Are we supposed to swim…?" Mr Leorio complained once more. The moon started vanishing, making the open lake dark as well as the rest of the forest or swamp we had come across. I looked across the lake for any sign on getting across on foot; but I couldn't find anything. I saw something shift in the corner of my eyes and turned my head slightly to see Gon running off. Against my better judgement I decided to follow him to see what had caught his interest. We came across a boat; it looked like it was in good enough shape to use. It was made of wood. A couple of wooden blanks sat on the back of the boat and the front, making them usable as seats. An ore was slung across the top. I examined it as Gon turned his head to our little group, a smile plastered across his face.  
"Look! There's a boat here." Gon said as I walked next to him, taking my eyes off the wooden boat, a toothy smile across my own face as I shook my head quickly agreeing with the spikey haired boy.  
"It looks like it can be used too!" I shouted over to Mr Leorio and my brother. We could use this to get across the water, which was better than swimming at least.

The five of us climbed into the boat. Gon was the first in. Once he was in he began sitting down on one of the wooden planks and took off his backpack. He grabbed a hold of one of the ores. My brother was the next one in. He climbed in with ease, being taller than Gon or myself. He took a seat next to Gon and took off his own bag strap from his shoulder whilst taking a hold of the other ore. Next it was me. I carefully and gingerly climbed in, keeping a tight grip on the side of the boat as I threw myself into it; I didn't want to land in the water. Sure I could swim, but not very well and I didn't fancy getting wet and soggy. I landed on my back and stared blankly at the night's sky for a second before sitting up and taking a seat on the wooden panel opposite my brother. I took off my bag and dumped it in front of me, keeping it between my feet. Finally, Mr Leorio climbed in with much more ease than my brother. He took the remaining seat next to me, although he didn't seem to want to do so and just clicked his tongue in annoyance.

My brother and Gon pushed the boat off setting us across the water. I looked over the edge slightly as they rowed the boat, staring deep into the dark water. I couldn't see anything; not even my own reflection and yet it was nice and calm, as if nothing could disturb it.  
"Hey, water is leaking here. Mishka; I thought you said the boat could be used?" Mr Leorio said, elbowing me in the side to grab my attention. I tore my eyes away from the calm water and looked up at him, glaring at him slightly for his way of grabbing my attention. A slight poke would have been enough.  
"It's really dark Mr Leorio I can't see everything!" I complained to him, keeping the glare on my face as he glared back; not happy with the attitude I was giving him.  
"It's not a big problem… Plug it until we finish crossing." My brother spoke up, breaking the tension between me and Mr Leorio. I turned my head away from him and glared down into the water once more, puffing out my cheeks slightly as I grabbed a hold of the side of the boat to keep myself from falling in.  
"Cripes! Don't tell me this is part of the Hunter Exam?!" Mr Leorio questioned in an annoyed tone of voice. I saw something floating in the water and perked my head up slightly, focusing on the thing floating. It was square in shape and had something sticking out from it; so it wasn't a body much to my relief. I heard Mr Leorio give a questioning sigh as my brother and Gon stopped rowing for a second. It was a wooden sign with a warning message across it.  
"That's the warning for the magical creatures…" Mr Leorio explained as we drifted away from the broken sign. I tried to reach out to grab it for a better look however we had already drifted so far away from it I couldn't reach it.  
"Yeah, so it seems." My brother confirmed as he too watched the sign drift further and further away from us until it became totally engulfed in fog.  
"The magical animals?" Gon questioned us. I nodded my head as I stared into the fog, just trying to see that sign once more; although my attempts were in vein; I couldn't see that sign no matter how hard I tried.

Gon and my brother began rowing the boat once more. Mr Leorio had taken off his jacket and used it to plug up the hole. I had taken off my dress tabard and given it to Mr Leorio to use to help plug up the hole; the idea being that if both our jackets were used then they wouldn't get as wet. I stared out in front of Gon and my brother to watch where we were going.  
"Say, I've been thinking. How do we impress the navigator? I have no idea." Gon asked, raising a very good question. I looked at him and thought to myself, furrowing my brows slightly as I tried to think of an answer. He raised a good point; how did we impress someone we had no knowledge of?  
"That is…" My brother began saying before being cut off my Mr Leorio.  
"I guess it's appearance." Mr Leorio declared, laughing at the end of his sentence.  
"I'm sorry to say this, but Gon, you have no chance. As for Kurapika, you're not tall enough! You Mishka look like a little boy from the front and not a little girl, a total gender bender. Taking that into account, I'm the only one among us who can impress the navigator…" Mr Leorio said to us. I looked at him wide eyed. He called me a gender bender…did I really look like a little boy from the front? If I did I must have looked really feminine…right? Right?! I looked over at Gon and my brother. The three of us looked between each other until Gon and me looked at my brother.  
"Is that right?" Gon asked my brother innocently.  
"Am I really a gender bender?" I asked my brother innocently myself. My brother looked away from Gon and then looked at me, before looking away from me and dropping his head slightly, closing his eyes.  
"No…Absolutely not to both questions." My brother said, making me sigh in relief. That was good to hear; although I wasn't too sure if my brother was saying it to be kind or if he was actually being honest. But, if I knew my brother as well as I liked to thing I did; I knew he was being honest.

I dropped my shoulders slightly, a small smile gracing my face as Mr Leorio glared at my brother. He rose a fist near his face as he looked like he was about to commit murder.  
"What did you say?!" Mr Leorio questioned angrily at my brother. My brother opened his eyes, but kept them averted to the ground as he began speaking once more.  
"After all, it takes more than just being physically strong. Something else… " My brother explained. I looked at him questionably as Mr Leorio looked at him with a rather annoyed look.  
"Like intelligence and shrewdness… As for you, Gon, think of something you excel in." My brother explained to us, looking between me and Gon. I nodded my head slightly I understanding as Gon just looked at him, confused, as if anything he just said hadn't made sense.  
"Something I excel in…?" Gon repeated, turning his head away and thinking to himself. His brows furrowed in thought. It looked like he was having trouble thinking about what he actually excelled in. I would say fishing; he did after all catch the boat to Dolle with his fishing rod.  
"You didn't notice it yourself, but you excel in many things. At least more than Leorio." My brother said, turning his attention away from me and Gon and instead looking at Mr Leorio. I snickered slightly to himself, putting my hands over my mouth as I tried my best to keep the small laugh to myself.

I looked at Mr Leorio through the corner of my eyes. He had closed his eyes, placed a fist to his chest and raised a hand next to his head, letting go of his jacket and my dress tabard. I quickly removed my hands from my mouth and latched them onto our articles of clothing to keep the leak plugged up, glaring up at Mr Leorio slightly for letting go when he was the one complaining about the leak.  
"For me, it's my courage. I wouldn't get scared, no matter what monsters I encounter." Mr Leorio said to us. I saw a long shadow forming behind him with bright yellow eyes. My eyes widened as my mouth began opening wide wanting to scream, yet I couldn't bring myself to it without fear that it would destroy the boat. Mr Leorio looked confused as he looked at me before looking behind me; I assumed at Gon and my brother.  
"Leorio…behind you." My brother said in a rushed tone of voice.  
"Behind me?" Mr Leorio repeated confusion evident in his voice.  
"Look." Me and Gon said together. I pointed a finger behind him, never taking my eyes off the shadow beast behind Mr Leorio. I saw Mr Leorio look behind him. The shadow beast roared, showing off all its pointy sharp teeth and wide mouth. Mr Leorio screamed and immediately pushed his way forward, shoving my brother and Gon to the edge of the point. He grabbed a hold of the ores and began rowing at an incredible speed. It was so fast that I could feel the hair tie at the bottom of my hair beginning to slip out. I ducked down slightly, pressing my hands tightly onto the clothes covering the leak as Mr Leorio rowed. He sent us flying through the air, indicating that he had hit something.

The boat landed on the ground again with a bang, sending sand up into the air. I looked up at my brother to see him and Gon climbing out of the boat, their bags on their persons once more. I did the same and grabbed a hold of my dress tabard and bag while leaving the boat. As my feet hit the soft sand, the three of us watched Mr Leorio rowing in place. He wasn't going anywhere, he was just rowing. Gon quickly walked round me and grabbed Mr Leorio's suitcase, then stood between me and my brother, keeping the case by his side.  
"Leorio." My brother called out, smirking to himself as he watched the grown man continue to row in a panic state. Mr Leorio looked up from his insane rowing. He looked at us questionably as we continued to stare at him. The sand dust began clearing. Gon held out his arm with the suitcase in his hand to Mr Leorio.  
"Here." He said simply to Mr Leorio, who continued to stare at us bewildered.

Mr Leorio eventually unlatched himself from the boats ores and began taking his jacket back. My brother spotted something and began wondering over to it. I followed him with Gon following closely behind. We climbed up the little hill and looked at the object. It looked like it was stone; it was grey in colour and had writing all over it. It looked like tribal writing, but I couldn't read it; it was my brother that excelled in languages. The stone looked rather old and worn down, as if someone hadn't taken care of it over the years.  
"Is this a ruin?" Gon questioned my brother, looking up at him slightly before looking back at the giant rock.  
"It seems like a relic of the ancient Sumi tribe." My brother said to him, keeping him own eyes on the stone.  
"Can you two read it?" Gon questioned us. I looked at Gon and shook my head, frowning apologetically. I looked up at my brother. He examined the relic only to become irritated judging by the look on his face.  
"Many parts are missing so I can't say so for sure… It seems like this is a warning for those who trespass this ruin." My brother said. I hummed slightly to myself and looked back at the relic, stepping a little bit closer to see if anything made sense to me; not that it would. It would have been like a blind man trying to watch a film.  
"Hey, forget about it. Where is the straight path? The path that old woman talked about." Mr Leorio asked in frustration. I turned my head around, spinning slightly on the balls of my feet as I looked at him questionably. My brother and Gon had already turned to face him by time I did.  
"That path is right there." Gon shouted over to him, pointing across the lakes bank. I looked over myself as Mr Leorio turned his head. The path waded around the lake that we had crossed. It looked quite long, as if it would take us a while to get around.  
"It looks like a long winding road to me. That old woman said it's a straight road." Mr Leorio commented quite bitterly.  
"A straight road doesn't necessarily mean that it leads straight towards our destination. Isn't that right, Mishka, Gon?" My brother said to Mr Leorio before turning his attention to us. I looked at my brother and nodded my head agreeing with what he said as Gon did the same. I kind of understood what he meant which was good in a way. Mr Leorio muttered something to himself and began walking away ahead of us. The three of us began following behind him, making our way to the navigators.

We had wondered around so much that we ended up in a forest. It was dark, but it didn't smell damp. I did however feel the need to keep a hold of my brothers training shirt sleeve as we walked through the darkened forest. Me, Gon and my brother had over taken Mr Leorio leaving him behind us. We were quiet as the forest roared with its own noises. Owls cried, crickets played their own tune and occasionally another animal would voice its opinion; only for it to be over taken and ignored by the other animals.  
"Are you sure we can reach the Exam Hall by doing this? Look. It's another warning sign for magical animals." Mr Leorio questioned, making me jump at the suddenness of his voice. I gripped a little tighter onto my brothers training shirt as I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I looked around and could barely make out the square piece of wood hidden among the trees.  
"Hey, Gon. You're walking so confidently, but I hope you're not leading us into a path of magical animals!" Mr Leorio shouted at Gon as we continued walking through the darkened forest.  
"Don't worry. There is no trace of magical animals." Gon said confidentially, a smile evident in his voice. I looked at him slightly confused wondering how he was so positive about there being no magical animals. Mr Leorio muttered to himself bitterly, I couldn't quite hear the words but I didn't mind that much; after all he was a very bitter guy from what I could tell.  
"Anyway, how can you see so well in this darkness?" My brother asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned my head back to Gon, wondering his answer as well.  
"My house was located deep in the mountain on Whale Island. So, it was completely dark at night. But the atmosphere of the woods at night is totally different here." Gon said to us. I couldn't help but smile slightly at his words. I tugged slightly at my brother's sleeve, gaining his attention. My brother turned his head towards me slightly as I smiled a toothy smile up at him.  
"Gon is really weird isn't he? But he's also really cool." I whispered to my brother with a small laugh at the end of my sentence. My brother smiled slightly back at me and nodded his head, agreeing with my statement with unspoken words.

As we continued through the forest Gon began slowing down and eventually came to a stop as he grinned widely.  
"I found it! See, there's the lone cedar tree over there!" Gon said, pointing to the giant tree that stood by itself on the top of the hill. I smiled widely with Gon as we stared at the tree. It was then that the four of us began walking quickly towards the lone cedar tree on top of the hill that didn't even seem to exist anymore.

We reached the lone cedar tree. I had long let go of my brothers training sleeve as we reached the cabin. There were no lights on in the little wooden cabin that sat underneath it. Me, Gon and my brother squeezed onto the wooden stairs leading up to the wooden cabin. Mr Leorio was the one who walked forwards and knocked loudly on the door, trying to grab the navigator's attention but his knocking only fell onto deaf ears as the door remained closed. Mr Leorio turned his head to us and shook it with a shrug of his shoulders. I frowned widely to myself as I furrowed my brows; surely they were in if they had to wait for contestants? Or maybe they were very heavy sleepers; god knows what the time was.  
"It's strange that they are not here…She said there was a couple living here." My brother said. I looked up to my brother as Gon walked up a couple of steps to stand in front of my brother gaining a better look at the closed door.  
"Maybe they're really heavy sleepers." I suggested to him. My brother thought about it for a second and shook his head, dismissing the idea. I sighed slightly, it was worth a shot; but my brother didn't seem to think it was the correct shot.  
"Doesn't seem like other applicants have reached here yet. We're the first." Mr Leorio said cheerfully, a laugh at the end of his sentence.  
"What shall we do?" My brother questioned mostly to himself. Gon turned around to face my brother slightly after his question. Mr Leorio began rattling the door knob, making me look at him questionably.  
"I'm going in." Mr Leorio said, pushing the door open. I found it strange that the door wasn't locked; sure even if they were Hunters like the rest of the examiners and lived in the middle of the woods, it was still dangerous to leave the door open like that for anybody to walk in. What is it wasn't Mr Leorio who had opened the door but a person with ill intentions?

I was glad Mr Leorio had opened the door though. What I saw was shocking. I gasped slightly to myself as my mouth dropped open and eyes widened slightly. In the darkened room was a massive furry creature, holding a woman by what looked like her throat. It was too dark for me to actually see what she looked like properly, but I think her clothes were pink with dark over clothing. Mr Leorio took out his knife as my brother took out his bokken swords from behind his back. The two ran towards the furry beast. However, it was too quick for them and it launched itself towards us. I jumped out of the way with my brother, reaching into my bag for my own weapons.  
"No!" I heard my brother shout from beside me.  
"M-my wife!" A voice shouted with gasps from the inside. I fell onto my bottom with a thud and gritted my teeth slightly; the landing was heavier than I had hoped. Gon, my brother and Mr Leorio all landed on their feet. Gon had begun running after the furry creature, my brother following him closely behind.  
"Leorio, Mishka! Take care of the wounded." My brother shouted to us as he began vanishing into the forest. I nodded my head as I began standing up from the ground, removing my hand from my bag as I watched where my brother had been.  
"Yeah, leave it to us!" Mr Leorio shouted cheerfully as he seethed his weapon. I watched Mr Leorio carefully. He looked at the broken door that led to the inside of the cabin before snapping his head back to me.  
"Do you know any first aid?" He asked me, making me jump at his sudden words. I nodded my head quickly, keeping my lips tightly together and hands by my sides, almost as if I was facing an officer in the military.  
"A little Mr Leorio." I said to him as confidentially as I could muster. Mr Leorio nodded his head as he began walking back towards the cabin.  
"A little is better than nothing. Come on, and stop calling me Mr Leorio I said it was fine to call me Leorio." Mr Leorio said to me. I nodded my head once more as I began following him quickly back towards the cabin.  
"Right M…Leorio." I said to him, catching myself with the title.

Me and Leorio got back into the cabin. It was completely dark inside; I could just about see what was in front of me. The air smelt…strange. It was unnerving because of it being unfamiliar. Or maybe that was because I was in a completely strange house.  
"Mishka, go and find a lantern. Use this to turn it on if you need to. I'll go see if that man is alright." Leorio said, digging through his pocket. He took out something and held it out in front of me to take. I looked at the item in his hand. It was silver in colour it looked like one of those lighters that Jerome, a man me and my brother stayed with after the clan massacre, used to light up his cigarettes. I took it gingerly out of his hand and nodded my head, keeping a tight grip on the object. Turning on my heels I scurried off to find a light or lantern. I could hear Leorio's footsteps getting quieter as he walked away from my retreating back and towards the possibly injured man. I pulled open the top of the object and felt around. Feeling the wheel I felt for the flint. Once that was found I placed my thumb back onto the wheel and started turning it quickly until the flint caught alight producing a beautiful yellow flame. I held the lighter out in front of me slightly as I looked around the floor for a lantern. Something hollow hit the side of my foot. I turned the lighter in its direction and saw on the ground a lantern. The glass was a little bit cracked so it must have fallen. I sat on the balls of my feet and picked up the object. Moving Leorio's lighter towards the inside of the lantern I lit it and smiled widely, then stood up straight as I flicked the top of Leorio's lighter over again. I quickly turned on my heels and began searching for Leorio and the man. Once spotted; I made my way over to them.

I got to the two in a matter of seconds. Placing the lantern down on the ground next to Leorio, then took a seat on the other side of the man. I could see the man better now. His skin was slightly tanned as if he spent most of his days outside and his hair was cut to his chin. It was brown in colour. He wore baggy jeans. I watched as Leorio bandaged the man's torso. I watched Leorio in amazement. It was almost as if he was trained to do this sort of thing. He wrapped the man up professionally. It was amazing.  
"In my case there's a syringe, can you get that for me, Mishka?" Leorio said jogging me out of my thoughts. I nodded my head and walked over quickly on my knees. Sitting myself on my legs next to Leorio suitcase I began looking for the syringe. It didn't take long to find it. It was clear in colour and only had a piece of green plastic running through the middle of it allowing the applicator to push whatever liquid they placed into it into the patients' blood stream. I grabbed it and waited for Leorio to finish his professional bandaging and setting the man down gently onto the floor chair.

Leorio sat up straight, ripping his forehead with his arm. I held the needle out to him carefully, which he took just as carefully. Leorio then looked through his suitcase for something and stuck the needle in, extracting a clear liquid from it and began sticking it into the man's unbandage part of his arm. The man winced slightly, most likely from the feeling of cold liquid going up into his arm than the needle being stuck into his arm.  
"This will do for now. But you need antibiotics for that wound. Isn't there any place where the Midoguda herb grows?" Leorio asked as he placed the needle back into the suitcase. I watched the man carefully as he watched Leorio.  
"Yes, there is, but…It's kind of far and there might be magical animals around." The man said looking at me and then back at Leorio. Leorio clicked his tongue slightly. His suit case clicked meaning her had shut it closed.  
"How can I take the Hunter Exam if I'm afraid of magical animals?" Leorio said to the man with confidence streaming through his voice. I had to admit, even though Leorio was scared of that really big animal in the lake he was doing well to try and hide his fear. I wondered if he actually meant what he said about not being scared or if it was just an act.

The man furrowed his brows slightly as he continued to stare at Leorio's back.  
"But…My wife…My wife is…!" The man said as he turned his head away, his eyes threatening to pour with tears. His shoulder shook as he began crying to himself. I could hear him sniffing and trying to his best to hold it together, although he couldn't do it. I furrowed my brows at the man and frowned, he was really worried for his wife it must have been hard.  
"Don't worry. Gon and Kurapika went after her. They'll do fine. They'll return shortly." Leorio said as I nodded my head agreeing with him. I looked at the man cheerfully, smiling my best wide toothy smile I could manage to try and cheer up the heart broken man.  
"My big brother and Gon are really strong! Your wife will be okay with them I promise." I said to him cheerfully, hoping to cheer him up or at least give him some sort of hope.  
"Anyway, where is the place the Midoguda herb grows?" Leorio asked the man, quickly changing the subject. The man looked at his wall first and then looked at us, his brows still furrowed but his eyes not on the verge of tears.  
"Ah, that is… on the side of the mountain, at the back of the house." The man said to Leorio. I smiled widely at him, luckily it wasn't that far. Leorio smiled at the man in thanks and stood up, brushing himself off and pulling down his suit sleeves.  
"Alright, I'll go look for the herbs. Mishka, stay here with him and keep him comfortable. I won't be long." Leorio said to me. I nodded my head, smiling widely at Leorio.  
"Okay!" I said cheerfully to him, before turning my head back to the man, a wide toothy smile on my face.  
"Don't worry Leorio will help you get all better again!" I said to him cheerfully a small laugh ending my sentence.

I sat with the man as Leorio left with some items to get the herbs. I looked around the house from where I sat. It was in such a mess, they would have a lot of trouble cleaning it. I turned my attention back to the man, looking at him questionably.  
"Do you want me to tidy your house a little? You got hurt really bad and your wife will probably be really shaken up." I said to him. The man shook his head as he began to slowly push himself from the floor. I watched him confused as he began standing up as if his wounds were nothing. He was walking towards the front door.  
"Hey mister! You need to rest!" I said to the man, quickly jogging in front of him. I stopped in front of him and held my arms out to stop him from going anywhere. At least, that was what I had hoped. He looked down at me, his eyes glowing a bright red. My own eyes widened as his shoulders began getting bigger, tearing off the bandages Leorio had wrapped so neatly. He began getting furry and hunched over until he looked exactly like the creature that took away his wife. That's when it clicked. It was a trap! And I felt scared.  
"I get it now, it was a trap!" I said to him glaring at him the best I could, but I was scared. The creature swung his arm towards my chest, shoving me out of the way of the door. I hit the side of the house hard and gritted my teeth together, closing my eyes tightly. It hurt a lot. Opening my eyes I began rummaging through my bags, he was probably going to go after Leorio because Leorio was by the cliff near the house…that made sense! I found my weapons, a pair of Jitte's, and ran at the creature it hopes that maybe I could distract it long enough to not attack Leorio. I had no intention of actually hurting it; I couldn't do that, but I needed to keep it distracted until someone came back to help me. The creature however took no notice of my run at him and instead spread his arms out making me stop in the spot. I looked at him with wide eyes as he took off into the sky. I felt a lump in my throat, I had to help Leorio and I had to do it now. My legs refused to move, that creature was huge, he was powerful and it frightened me; even though it only just hit me. But I needed to help Leorio and with that I forced my legs to move forward, running in the direction that the creature took off in.

I managed to follow the magical creature. It was hard, and I wanted to turn back to find someone, but I needed to He had swooped down below the cliff levels. I forced myself to run faster. I could see the cliff edge getting closer and closer. That's when I managed to spot some rope tied to a rock. My eyes widened as I pushed myself more to run faster. I quickly stopped by the rock and looked to where it went. Following it I spotted Leorio down the cliff edge. I couldn't see the creature though…I must have beaten it here!  
"Leorio! That man we helped, h -" I began shouting down to Leorio before suddenly being swooped backwards. I screamed as I was being pulled backwards. The creature held me by the neck like the other one did with the woman, lifting me off the ground and grabbed a hold of the rope holding Leorio with its free hand. My eyes were wide as my breathing turned heavy, I was scared. I was scared because he might drop Leorio and it was my fault. I was scared that the creature might throw me off after he drops Leorio. The worse of it…there was nothing I could do. If I tried attacking he would drop Leorio.

I saw Leorio's head pop up from above the cliff edge. I dropped my weapons to the floor and tried reaching out for the rope to keep it up in case the creature dropped Leorio, however all the creature did was loosen his grip slightly, making Leorio drop a little. My eyes went wide, making me drop them to my sides once more. I furrowed my brows and frowned widely at Leorio. I couldn't do anything. I heard the creature growl as Leorio kept his grip tightly on the rope. The creature loosened his grip once more dropping Leorio a little further down.  
"I'm sorry Leorio!" I shouted over to Leorio, feeling awful for not being able to help him, or even stop the beast from getting here in the first place. I was too scared; even though I shouldn't have been I was.  
"Nothing's happened yet! Hey! You, magical beast! So that wound was faked to trick us, wasn't it?" Leorio shouted up to me and the magical beast. I felt the creature stiffen from behind me as its breath caught into its throat. I wondered how Leorio knew, I was too scared to even try and find out though; I was too scared for Leorio.  
"Wh-What are you talking about?" The creature said quietly, mostly to himself. I tried to struggle free, however the creature only tightened his arm around my neck a little more and loosened the rope to let it drop a little bit further.  
"Don't try to get free or he'll drop me! Hey, you're that husband in that house, aren't you?!" Leorio shouted to the creature and me. I closed my eyes tightly and nodded my head quickly, letting myself stay where I was without any attempts to try and help Leorio. I had to trust Leorio on this one and hope the creature didn't drop him.  
"That needle mark in your right arm is solid proof!" Leorio shouted over. I heard the creature's breath catch into his throat again. His arm around my neck suddenly loosened, dropping me to the floor. I landed with a thump and quickly crawled away from the creature and towards my weapons.

I watched as Leorio quickly ran over, knife in hand. He stood on the creature's chest and pointed the knife at his throat. I turned my eyes away from the creature and saw next to him a basket full of herbs; the herbs Leorio would have used on him if he was still in his human form. I turned my eyes back to Leorio as he kept the knife close to the creature's throat.  
"The tide is turned. I should say the game is over." Leorio said to the creature. The creature smirked at Leorio and gently pushed his arm out of the way and sat up, looking up at the tall man. The creature began standing up, making Leorio stand on guard.  
"Please, meet me back at the house." The creature said to us. It was with that the creature spread his arms and flew away once more. I watched with wide eyes as the creature flew in the direction of the house. I furrowed my brows and began standing up, opening my bag to dump my Jitte's in. Leorio sighed to himself and clicked his tongue in annoyance as I closed my bag shut and walked next to him.  
"Who does he think he is, just ordering that?" Leorio muttered angrily to himself. I looked up at Leorio with an apologetic frown and furrowed brows, before dropping my head once more.  
"I'm sorry Leorio, if I stopped him you wouldn't have been put into that situation." I said to him, keeping my eyes averted to the floor. I heard Leorio sigh slightly in annoyance before walking forwards. I brought my head up and watched him slightly before following him quickly.  
"Don't worry about it." He said simply and slightly harshly. I nodded my head and followed Leorio quietly back towards the house like the creature said.

When me and Leorio reached the house, Gon and my brother were already there with another pair of furry creatures. I quickly made my way back to my brother's side again and grabbed onto his sleeve tightly, rooting myself next to him. I shouldn't be as shaken up as I was but I couldn't help it. What if something did happen to Leorio? I would be to blame.  
"It's been years since we found a person who can distinguish us." One of the furry creatures said, smiling, or smirking, down at Gon.  
"How fun is that?" The other furry creature said, also smirking, or smiling, down at a beaming Gon. I looked at Gon with amazement as he stood in front of the creatures who stood with their hands on their hips in front of Gon. He wasn't scared of them. I wanted to be a little bit like Gon, not scared of things and always smiling.  
"Can you tell the difference between faces or voices?" Leorio questioned my brother. I kept my eyes on the creatures, my grip only tightening on my brothers' sleeve as Leorio spoke. It had shaken me up a lot.  
"No…Not at all." My brother admitted. I had to admit, I couldn't tell the difference, if there was one I meant. There must have been as they did practically say so themselves. And Gon thought there was a difference…they were strange that's all I knew.  
"By the way, Kurapika and I hit the husband." Gon said, just adding confusion into the matters as I was sure I watched the husband transform and Leorio said there was a needle mark on his arm. I furrowed my brows slightly at Gon's words; this was just too confusing for me.  
"So tell me which is which." Leorio demanded from Gon angrily. I looked between Gon and the creatures, before turning my attention back at my brother who began speaking to Gon, amazement in his own voice.  
"You predicted the storm before. This time, you were able to distinguish between magical animals… You have a peculiar talent." My brother said to him. I looked back at Gon as he looked at my brother with a wide smile. He took it as a compliment, rather my brother meant it as a compliment was another thing but he took it as one anyhow.

I turned my attention back to the magical animals as they stared at Gon. Gon turned his attention back to the magical animals as well. I tried my best to see the difference between them; I couldn't see any no matter how hard I tried. Even when they spoke so little beforehand, I couldn't hear the difference in their voice.  
"Well now, as you've probably realized… we are the navigators." The creature said to us, pointing a hand to his chest. The wife came out from behind the creature pointing at his chest. She had long furry ears coming out from the top of her head and was smiling widely.  
"I'm the daughter." She said cheerfully. The man who was the husband came out from behind the other creature, smiling widely himself with furry ears coming out from the top of his head. He held a piece sign to us.  
"I'm the son." He said to us just as cheerfully as his sister.  
"Hello." Gon said cheerfully back at them, raising a hand at the two. The son and the daughter stood next to their parents, who towered over them in their magical animal selves.  
"My daughter and son were disguised as the married couple in that house under the lone cedar tree." The creature said to us. So it wasn't fully a trap? It still confused me greatly; I didn't know what to make of it. The daughter began lifting her arm and pulled down her sleeve slightly, showing the tattoo's that trailed down her arm.  
"And as Mr Kurapika pointed out, this tattoo is my proof that I am sworn to God, his wife. Unless you are versed in ancient history, it's impossible to know this." The daughter said to us, looking over to my brother, a small smile on her face as she pointed to the tattoo on her arm and hand.  
"It takes not only broad knowledge, but keen eyes to spot it. We are very much impressed by your keen perception in discovering that we are not a real married couple." The daughter said to my brother. My brother lowered his head slightly and closed his eyes, most likely from feeling slightly embarrassed by the praise. The son and daughter bowed to my brother as the creatures folded their arms and nodded their heads, humming at the words spoken by their daughter.

The daughter and son stood up straight once more. The son looked over to me and Leorio. I couldn't help but step back behind my brother, I was too afraid to hear what he was going to say about me; I mean I was captured and got too scared to try and help, my outcome probably wasn't that good.  
"And Mr Leorio. Although you didn't realize that deceptive wound… you treated the wound very efficiently. And most of all, you encouraged me while I acted as though I was worried about my wife. I am moved by your kind heart." The son said to Leorio, placing a hand over his chest and closing his eyes. I looked at Leorio to smile at him; however he was sweating and gritting his teeth together. It was almost as if the son's words were making him nervous or more embarrassed than my brother was by the daughter's words. Looking back at the son, he moved his shirt sleeve above his arm, pointing at the small needle mark.  
"Moreover, your insight in discovering my real identity from a faint needle mark. It is worthy of praise." The son said to Leorio, making him even more embarrassed then before. I couldn't help but smile at the awkwardness Leorio was showing at the sons praise, it was almost as if he didn't get it often. Or maybe he just didn't like being praised for his work.

I looked back at the family once more, the son was focusing this time on me, making me stiffen up and step behind my brother slightly more. I was worried about what was going to be said about me, and worried that I would have to go back to Sarah's, Jerome's wife, by myself without a Hunter licence.  
"You Mishka, followed instructions given to you very well. Even though you got scared after seeing me transform into my real form, you followed me anyway to warn Mr Leorio. You even tried to get free from my grasp when Mr Leorio's life was in danger until you were told not to. Your ability to summon up courage even when scared is enough to praise." The son said to me, making me look at him wide eyed. I stepped out from behind my brother, looking at the son in disbelief. Did that mean I passed the test they set out for us? Even though I got scared I had passed? Hunter's couldn't be scared of anything and they were letting me pass.

I stood quiet and looked at the pair of creatures, who were smiling widely with their eyes closed, looking at Gon with total bliss.  
"You are that person, once in a decade… who can distinguish us. Such perception and such physical ability… Mr Gon." The two creatures said at the same time, making it even harder to tell them apart. Gon smiled widely at them and scratched the back of his head, looking up at them with a hand tightly on his fishing pole which I failed to notice was with him earlier.  
"If I knew it, I would have hit you lighter. I'm sorry." Gon apologised to the creature. It seemed like his words fell onto deaf ears though, as the creatures didn't respond saying it was okay or anything, instead they continued smiling widely with their eyes closed.  
"All four of you have passed the test." The creature said happily. I couldn't help but smile widely to myself as Gon did the same. I was happy, very happy, so happy that I began jumping up and down on the spot in excitement. It was as if I was getting sweets for being good, or got to go out and play for doing my chores, I was that excited about passing. I had actually forgotten my fear and dread.

The creatures spread their arms out to their sides and began flapping them up and down, creating lots of wind and throwing bits of dirt and very small rocks into the air. The son and daughter turned into their true forms and began flapping their arms, building up air and throwing bits of grass and rocks into the air.  
"Well, we shall lead you to the Hunter Exam Hall." The creature said to us. I stopped my jumping on the spot and looked excitedly at the creatures. The four of us walked over to the creatures, readying ourselves to be taken into the air and towards to Hunter Exam Hall. The son and daughter, being a lot small than their parents, took Gon together. My brother knelt down slightly allowing me to hope onto his back. Once on, and with my arms and legs securely around him so I didn't fall, my brother grabbed a hold of the creatures legs, ready to fly into the air. The creatures began flying into the air. I held onto the creature's legs tightly, not wanting to drop otherwise that would be a nasty end to my journey.  
"I hate heights. Please don't drop me!" Leorio shouted as the creatures got higher and higher into the sky. I placed my head onto my brothers' shoulder to get a better look at where we were going. Everything looked amazing from above, I could see lights in the far off city. They looked like fireflies, fluttering in the sky.  
"Didn't you say you were a man with courage?" My brother teased Leorio as we flew towards the moonlight, allowing the creatures to take us wherever we needed to go. This was it, this was the final step we had to overcome in order to take the Hunter Exam, and I had to get myself ready for it; I had to be prepared. I had to show everyone that I could become a Hunter as well!

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_Author Note: A Jitte is a weapon that was carried by all levels of police officers in Japanese Edo time. Mishka's are wooden instead of iron and do not have the hidden stiletto in the hilt. _


	5. Steak x Marathon x The Exam Starts

Big thank you to Guest, Anime lover and all silent readers!  
**Guest – **I'm glad you like the story! Trust me I'm working on the paragraphs thing.  
**Anime lover – **Yeah I think about a month, maybe just over. I just found some voice clips from Inuyasha dub and sub, Rin is pretty cute.

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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Zaban city had come into view by day break, the city where the Hunter Exam Hall was. The city where we would take our Exam to become Hunters. I wasn't ready. For starters, I had lost my dress tabard and only had the one in my bag now. I must have left it back at the forest when we thought the navigators were under attack by the creatures. Second, I didn't know what I was expecting, it could be anything and I wasn't ready for anything. What if we had to fight and I was forced against my brother? Or Gon? Or even Leorio? I don't think I could do that. It didn't help that I didn't have any sleep; none of us did as we were flying through the air. I was tired, and hungry; the last place me and my brother ate was Whale Island after all.

Once my brothers feet touched the ground I gently pushed myself off his back, careful not to get my legs stuck in his bag strap. I quickly opened up the flap to my brown shoulder bag and dug out my last dress tabard. I slipped the bag strap off my shoulder and quickly rammed the dress tabard over the top of my head, then patted myself down to make myself look neat and tidy. Smiling widely at my work I quickly slipped my bag back over my shoulder once more and closed the flap so nothing would fall out.

The creature, who I had learned was actually called a Kiriko, transformed into a human once more. Several layers of bright and colourful clothing with an orange turban to top it all off. He really stood out from the entire crowd but rather that was the idea or not I didn't know. The four of us followed behind him closely as he stared at the small piece of paper in his hand.  
"Tsubashi Town, two five ten… Let me see… I found it. That building is the Exam Hall." The man said, pointing to a tall white building that stood maybe a few feet in front of us, standing out from the entire city.

My eyes widened in excitement as I stared up at it. It was tall, very tall and covered in windows. Gon covered his brows with his hand as he too smiled a wide grin up at the building.  
"Wow! It's so big." Gon said in amazement. I nodded my head agreeing with him. The sun shone down from the skies brightly; however I tried my best to ignore it having become more fascinated with the tall Exam building.  
"Just what I expected for the real Exam Hall. Even the entrance looks awesome!" Leorio commented with joy laced in his words, staring at the entrance of the Exam Hall.  
"It's great!" Gon said excitedly once more, dropping his hand to his sides once the sun disappeared behind the clouds. Gon and Leorio had dropped quiet as we just continued staring at the tall white building. It was finally happening; we could finally take the exam.  
"In this place, from throughout the world…" Leorio began saying, continuing to admire the building.  
"Tough Hunter applicants gather." My brother finished off for Leorio. I continued to smile widely up at the building. I began bouncing up and down a little bit on the balls of my feet, excited but also nervous, getting ready to enter the Exam Hall and take the exam.  
"Hey, that's not it. The entrance is next door!" Our navigator told us. The four of us turned our attention to him and saw him point to a small café that held a large sign with a picture of eggs and bacon on it. The little building was yellow and compared to the building we stared at, not that impressive. The four of us looked at him and the café in disbelief, surely he was not serious?!

Turns out he was serious. We followed him over to the small café. He was smiling widely while the rest of us looked rather grumpy about the whole situation. As our guide opened the door, the sound of cooking filled my ears accompanied with the smell of something being fried. What was being fried was beyond me, but whatever it was it smelt great! But maybe that was because I was very hungry.  
"Welcome!" The man behind the counter said to us as we entered the café. It was almost empty inside expect for the chef and the waitress, who beamed widely at us.  
"Good afternoon!" The woman said to us cheerfully as she smiled widely, happy to greet us. Both of them were wearing chef whites. The man behind the counter, who I assumed to be the chef as he was the one making all the smells and noises, didn't seem like he wanted to be doing his job.

The four of us followed the navigator into the café. Leorio was the last one so he closed the door behind us. I looked around, taking in all the sights. The walls were brightly painted and welcoming. The smells, although uncertain to what it belonged to, smelt great considering I was really hungry.  
"Hey, hey… You've gotta be kidding, Mr Navigator! Don't tell me this place is…" Leorio began saying, unhappy with where we were. Our navigator however took know notice of him and instead walked up to the counter where the man cooking was. I watched him carefully, wondering what he was going to do.  
"Hey, mister! A steak lunch!" Our navigator said to him. The chef looked at us before looking back at the navigator, a smirk crawling across his face and eyes turning sly.  
"How do you want it?" He asked our navigator slyly. I went and took a spot between my brother and Gon, never taking my eyes off the chef behind the counter. Something about that smirk put me on edge and made me feel overly uncomfortable.  
"Over low heat… grilled slowly…" The navigator said to the chef. The chef nodded his head and smiled widely at the navigator, never stopping what he was cooking.  
"Gotcha! Go on to the back room." The chef ordered us all. The waitress in the chefs whites walked off to a very tucked away corridor and pointed her hand to it, the smile never leaving her face as she looked at us.  
"Please…this way." She said to us, prompting us to follow in her hands direction.

Once we reached the door, Gon opened up the door leading us inside. I followed after him with my brother behind me and then lastly Leorio. The room was quite big, but also dirty looking; it seemed like it hadn't been cleaned for days. There were no chairs or tables; if we were eating I guess we were eating while sitting on the floor.  
"This is the Hunter Exam. It always takes the applicants by surprise. They say there were several million applicants. And one in ten thousand…" Our navigator began saying, trailing off as he spoke. Me and Gon turned our heads to face him, wide eyed and curious as to what he meant. He stood by the door keeping his wide smile and fox like eyes.  
"That's the probability of reaching the main Exam Hall. You've done very well for rookies. I will be happy to guide you again next year. Catch it!" The navigator said to us, showing us four disks and throwing them to in our direction. Out of habit I flinched and quickly took a step back while jumping a little. The disk hit my chest than fell to the floor. My brother and Leorio had caught theirs in their hand while Gon's landed in the middle of his forehead.

I bent down and picked up my disk. It was light weight and white in colour. The number on the front read "Four hundred and nine". My eyes went wide; there were a lot of us taking the exam this year. I looked back at the navigator as he grasped the door handle and lifted a hand waving us goodbye.  
"Well, good luck, rookies." The navigator said to us and quickly turned around on his heel.  
"Mr Kiriko!" Gon called out suddenly, making the navigator stop dead in his tracks. Gon quickly walked up to him and held out his hand for him to shake. I quickly walked up myself as the navigator turned around to look at Gon and then at me when I stood next to Gon. Gon smiled widely as I bowed down, my hands over one another and in front of me.  
"Thank you." We said at the same time. My brother taught me to always be polite, and seeing as the navigator brought us here I needed to say my thanks. I stood up and watched the navigator as he looked between us staying silent. He then smiled widely at the two of us.  
"Yeah, you're welcome." The navigator said to us, shaking Gon's hand. One he let go he began walking backwards through the door again, waving goodbye at us once more while keeping the wide smile on his face.  
"If we have a chance we'll meet again. So long." The navigator said to us and finally closed the door, smiling until the last visible crack was no longer there.

I couldn't help but smile widely at him even though he couldn't see anymore. Me and Gon turned to each other and smiled widely at each other while all was quiet. That's when the room started moving with a jolt. The four of us looked around in shock as the walls and door to the room started going up, revealing an even dirtier grey wall behind it.  
"This whole room is…" Leorio began saying in surprise.  
"I see…" My brother said, having caught on exactly what it was as soon as it started happening.  
"It's great!" Gon said excitedly as I nodded my head agreeing with the spikey haired boy.  
"I wasn't expecting this." I admitted to the group, watching the walls and door travel up until they were completely out of sight. I looked at the number pin in my hand and carefully brought it to my chest, pinning it on the left side. I could only assume that I was the four hundred and sixth applicant to get this far…that was a scary thought.

I watched as the room kept going down further and further to who knew where. The others had long pinned their number pins to their chests. We stood in a small circle among ourselves; my back was to Leorio's as I stood next to my brother and Gon. We went back to discussing what the navigator had said to us, it didn't sound like he had very much faith in us passing this year.  
"But the way he said it was rude, wasn't it? As though we had no chance of making it this year…" Leorio said to us, shoving a hand into his pocket. I turned my head slightly and looked up to him after he spoke.  
"One person in three years. That's the probability of a rookie passing. I hear many rookies drop out midway because the Hunter Exam is so harsh. And they take such a physical beating; they can never take it again." My brother said to us. A lump in my throat formed, I knew exactly where he got that information from. Jerome had told him, seeing as Jerome was a Hunter himself. I remembered when we left his and Sarah's house three years ago that he said "There is no shame in dropping out and trying again next year. The Exam is harsh and cruel, if you have to pack up and leave then do it." But I wanted to show Jerome that I could take everything the Hunter Exam threw at me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as my brother stopped talking and turned around probably to face him. His words weren't calming and only made me worry about the worse. Gon looked at him questionably, his eyes wide with wonder.  
"But why do they take such risks to become Hunters?" Gon asked raising a valid point. I knew being a Hunter was important to some, me and my brother being in that some, but as Jerome said there was no shame in dropping out so why did people take such risks? Maybe that was just me being childish and silly.  
"Hey big brother Gon's got a point. Jerome said there was no shame in dropping out." I said to my brother, looking up at him just as wide eyed. My brother and Leorio turned around to face us. They bent down slightly just towering over the two of us with big glares on their faces as if trying to wonder why we had said what we did. I jumped slightly at my brother's look and stepped a little closer to Gon, furrowing my brows as I looked between the two.  
"Did you really come to take the Exam without any knowledge?" Leorio questioned us, but more so Gon. Gon moved backwards, smiling awkwardly at the two with his brows furrowed, trying to make light of the now awkward situation.  
"I don't know…" Gon said to the two. My brother looked more sternly at me, making me take a step back away from him myself.  
"Did you really forget the importance of being a Hunter?" My brother questioned me, making me furrow my brows even more. I tucked my chin in slightly to my chest as I looked at him through the tops of my eyelids.  
"Well no but Jerome said…" I began saying to my brother as I trailed off from my sentence because of his stern look. Truth was I had, I had forgotten long ago; but I didn't want to admit that to my brother in fear for what he would think or say. It was that look that always got me, no matter what it was that look just always got to me.

My brother and Leorio continued to stare at me and Gon as we stood close to each other, trying not to let their looks of shock and disappointment. Somehow, I could tell my brother knew I was lying to him; which only made me feel horrible as he always said lying was a sin.  
"Look. A Hunter is…" My brother began saying before being cut off by Leorio's butt in.  
"In this world…" Leorio began saying.  
"The most well-paid occupation!"  
"The most noble occupation!" My brother and Leorio shouted at me and Gon at exactly the same time, making the two of us step back even more to get away from their fury. My brother and Leorio turned their heads to each other as they glared at one another. Leorio's eye lids dropped in annoyance as they stared at one another.  
"Not again, you goody-goody!" Leorio said to my brother in annoyance.  
"You greedy bastard!" My brother swore at Leorio, making me clasps my hands against my mouth. My brother rarely swore and it was odd hearing him swear in the first place. Okay, what my brother said wasn't as bad as some words; but he said if he ever heard me swore then he would ground me as it showed lack of vocabulary and he said he taught me better than resorting to swears.

The two glared even more at each other and then began growling at one another before turning their attention back to me and Gon. I dropped my hands quickly as the two glared at us. The whole room was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second and if anything I wanted to get away.  
"Gon! Mishka! Listen carefully! Only official Hunters are issued Hunter Licences. If you have this, you're permitted to go anywhere. And you can use most public facilities free of charge." Leorio shouted at us, making my brothers face drop in disgust. It was as if he stepped in something that wasn't very pleasant with just his bare feet; it was that kind of face.  
"If you become a Treasure Hunter of lost antiques or a Contract Hunter for a rich patron, you can make a fortune! You can have a great life!" Leorio said, turning his head back to my brother to glare as my brother did the same.

My brother suddenly snapped his head away from Leorio and pushed himself closer to me and my spikey haired acquaintance, keeping the glare on his face which only resulted in us stepping a little bit closer to each other and away from them in order to keep away.  
"Wrong! Gon! Mishka! A Hunter's job is to keep the order between people and nature! Like a heritage Hunter and a Rare Animal Hunter, it's part of a Hunter's job to protect a priceless cultural heritage or an endangered species or to capture notorious criminals!" My brother said, finally stopping to take in some air. My brother and Leorio went back to glaring at each other as my brother continued telling me and Gon what a Hunter was.  
"You must have a sound mind, a sound body and strong discipline!" My brother said to us as he and Leorio went back to growling and glaring even more hatefully at each other.  
"Y-Yeah…" Gon said awkwardly trailing off as I nodded my head slightly.  
"I guess…" I said awkwardly myself as I too trailed off in my sentence. My brother and Leorio looked back at me and Gon once more, the glares on their faces never leaving and only becoming more intense. It just made the room even more awkward to stand in than before.  
"What do you say, Gon? Mishka?" Leorio yelled at me and Gon as he asked his question.  
"Which kind of Hunter do you aspire to?" My brother yelled at me and Gon as well.

Gon went to thinking about his answer as I looked between the two, my brows furrowed in confusion. I just knew that I wanted to be a Blacklist Hunter so I could catch the group of people that killed mine and my brothers clan; that's all I wanted to be. At least that's what I told myself. It was probably heavily influenced by my brothers own hate and remorse towards the group. I didn't know if they fell into a certain category when it came to justice or things like that.  
"Well, it's hard to choose…" Gon said trailing off in his sentence. I nodded my head slightly, agreeing with Gon.  
"I just want to be a Blacklist Hunter like big brother is going to be because I want to help him." I said to the two of them as I looked between them both. I could see my brother's glare lift slightly at my words until the room we were in suddenly stopped moving with a jolt. The four of us broke away from the awkwardness in the air and looked around at the room, wondering why it had stopped.

The doors behind my brother and Leorio opened up wide. The room they lead into was dark. It felt like there was a lot of tension in the darkened room even though we hadn't entered yet. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable from the rooms' hostility to any new comer that dared to enter. I quickly went to my brothers' side as Gon took the lead role. We stopped out of the elevator room and looked around. I had tucked myself behind my brother slightly keeping a tight hold of his sleeve as I looked around the hostile room. It was full of big, muscly men, and only men. There were no other children like me or Gon. That's what made it even more uncomfortable to be in. Everybody in the room just stared at us, some with only their eyes visible from the darkness. This room was defiantly different to anything else I had ever been in.

The silence was long and painful. It made me feel anxious and slightly afraid to continue on. Jerome's words of "No shame in quitting" sounded like a wonderful idea at the moment; but I wanted to prove to them both that I too can become a Hunter and show him how much his training paid off.  
"There are so many people!" Gon said loudly as he looked around the room, but also not daring to move from his spot. I nodded my head and continued to stare at the people in the room, avoiding the eye contact of many when I couldn't see their face or body.  
"It's hostile, everyone is really hostile." I said to Gon, staying in my hidey hole that was behind my brothers back not daring to move myself. One wrong move and everything could be over.  
"That's because with you, there're four hundred and nine of us." A broad voice said from above and behind us. The four of us turned around and looked up, trying to pin point where the voice had come from. I managed to spot the person with great difficulty in the darkness.

It was a stocky built man you looked very short; given that he was sitting down. He had a round face with a very square nose. His hair was short and brown. His eyes were small and round, I couldn't think of anything to compare them to. His clothing consisted of a long sleeved yellow shirt with yellow trousers and a green vest top over the top of his yellow shirt. His shoes were black in colour. On his chest sat a pin, meaning he was an applicant too.  
"Hi! I'm Tonpa! I'm number sixteen this year!" The man introduced himself as and hoped down from his perch that looked a lot like railing. He landed on his feet and smiled widely at us, he looked kind; as if he didn't mean harm or couldn't even make harm.

I looked at him questionably, an eyebrow raised in confusion. He said this year…so he must have taken the test last year too which could only mean that he failed.  
"This year?" My brother questioned him, voicing my confusion. Mr Tonpa walked towards us completely ignoring my brothers' question. He stopped in front of Gon and held out a hand for him to shake, the kind smile never leaving his face. Now that he was standing straight I could see that he was actually taller than me and Gon; I wasn't very tall to begin with anyway, considering I only stood at my brothers elbow, which turned out to be Gon's shoulder. Mr Tonpa had to bend down slightly to shake Gon's hand comfortably.  
"Nice to meet you!" Mr Tonpa said happily. I watched as Gon smiled widely at the man and placed his hand into his, shaking it. I wondered how Gon could just do that to people he had only just met, didn't he have any sense of stranger danger? Or maybe I had too much and needed to be more trusting like Gon.  
"I'm Gon! These three are… Kurapika…" Gon said as he began introducing us. I was glad that Gon had decided to take to introducing us; it made things slightly easier knowing I didn't have to speak to this man.

Mr Tonpa held out a hand for my brother to shake. My brother took it rather confused as he continued to look at him questionably.  
"Nice to meet you." Mr Tonpa said to him. My brother didn't give him a reply but instead continued to just stare at him confused.  
"Mishka…" Gon said introducing me next. Mr Tonpa and my brother let go of each other's hands which made Mr Tonpa hold out his hand towards me next, bending down slightly like he had done with Gon. I stared at his hand for a second or two before gingerly placing my hand into his and shaking it very lightly.  
"Nice to meet you." Mr Tonpa repeated to me. I nodded my head quickly, not daring to make eye contact. Once Mr Tonpa let go I quickly pulled my hand back to me and grabbed onto my brothers sleeve once more, stepping just a little bit more behind him. That made me feel very uncomfortable for whatever reason; maybe it was because Mr Tonpa was really friendly and Jerome always said to be wary of people who were overly friendly in the Hunter Exam.  
"And Leorio." Gon said, introducing Leorio last. Mr Tonpa held out a hand to Leorio who just looked at him blankly.  
"Nice to meet you." Mr Tonpa parroted, waiting for them to shake hands. Leorio however just smiled and waved his hand instead, refusing to shake it. I wondered why I didn't think of that.

Mr Tonpa furrowed his brows slightly and closed his eyes, keeping the wide smile on his face as he forced a laugh. It sounded very awkward. He opened his eyes and turned them to Gon, who seemed to be the only one willing to talk to him freely.  
"You're rookies, aren't you?" Mr Tonpa questioned us as he turned back around to face Gon properly. Gon looked at him shocked, wondering how the man knew that this was our first time here. I too wondered; did we stand out that much?  
"Can you tell?" Gon asked him innocently, wondering the same thing as I did. Mr Tonpa stood up straight, keeping that wide smile on his face as placed his hands onto his hips, looking as if he knew everything there was too know.  
"Sort of…You know I've taken the Hunter Exam thirty five times." Mr Tonpa said to us, although he made it sound more of an accomplishment than a failure. My face dropped at that information; thirty five times?! Was it really that hard? I looked at Gon whose face also dropped, but then suddenly turned into a wide and excited smile.  
"Thirty five time?!" Gon said excitedly to him. Mr Tonpa smirked and turned his gaze towards the other contestants while crossing his arms, almost proud with the amount of failures he had gained throughout the years of taking the exam. I thought to myself, by that information he had been taking this exam for the last thirty five years! That was a lot of years of trying something over and over again.  
"Yeah, it only means I'm an expert at taking the Exam… I can teach you anything if you have questions." Mr Tonpa said proudly. Gon seemed unfazed by the man's smugness though and just continued to smile widely and excitedly at him.  
"Thank you." Gon said to him, seeming to be happy with Mr Tonpa's response.

I looked at my brother wondering what he thought about everything, seeing as Mr Tonpa was ignoring the rest of us and only concentrating on Gon. My brother looked surprised, but also slightly concerned. I turned my attention to Leorio who looked very surprised at Mr Tonpa.  
"Ah…Thirty five time? Oh my…" Leorio said quietly for just the three of us to hear. That was still a monstrous amount of times to take an Exam to become a Hunter…what exactly was he gaining from taking the Exam all that time?  
"So, you are the famous Mr Tonpa." A voice said from behind me, my brother and Leorio. The three of us turned around to see a very short boy, maybe about my height give or take with a black, greasy looking comb over and very small beady eyes like a rodents. He held something in his hands, it looked like a laptop.

He smiled widely at whatever it was he was holding, never taking his eyes off of it as he stayed behind us. I heard shuffling of feet and could only assume that Mr Tonpa and Gon had also turned around to look at the person behind us. Me and my brother had taken steps away from Leorio so the other two could see the person clearly.  
"Who are you, let me see…" Mr Tonpa said, trying to think of a name to put to his face. I took a better look at the very short man with a greasy comb over. He wore what looked like office clothing, white shirt, pink bow tie, and blue trousers with black dress shoes. On his chest was a badge saying "one hundred and eight seven".  
"I don't think you know me. I'm a rookie. I'm number one hundred and eight seven, Nicolas!" The greasy looking man, who called himself Nicolas, said to us. His name was different to the rest of ours; he must have not been from the countries we were from. He must have come from a very faraway place.

Gon stepped forward, smiling widely at Mr Nicolas. He pointed his thumb to himself as he stopped in front of my brother and Leorio.  
"Hello. I'm Gon." Gon introduced himself to Mr Nicolas. Mr Nicola began typing something onto his little laptop like thing, only confirming my thoughts that it was a laptop. He hummed to himself as he typed away, making Gon's face drop into one of confusion; wondering what he was doing.  
"Let me see. Ah, here it is, Mr Tonpa. Taking the Hunter Exam thirty five times is the second highest on record. And you've made it to the main exam thirty times. Absolutely the most ever! It is quite an achievement." Mr Nicolas said to Mr Tonpa. He wasn't even paying attention to us at all; he seemed to be very focused on Mr Tonpa. Mr Tonpa just shrugged at his words with a small smirk on his face a small laugh coming from his mouth.  
"It only means that I made it but never passed. You know, I flunk all the time." Mr Tonpa said to Mr Nicolas. Mr Nicola however looked as if he knew something different about Mr Tonpa, as he smirked at him.  
""Flunk all the time," huh? I think that description suits you very well." Mr Nicolas said to him smugly. He closed his laptop and opened his eyes as he began to turn away from us.  
"Excuse me." He said to us, dismissing himself after invading our little one sided conversation with Mr Tonpa. Mr Nicolas was a very strange man indeed.

Once he was away from us, Leorio clicked his tongue slightly and pulled a face, watching Mr Nicolas's back retreat further and further away from us.  
"What an annoying brat he is!" Leorio commented from the whole situation. We turned to Mr Tonpa as he laughed awkwardly, a hand behind the back of his head with an awkward smile across his face.  
"Well, he got me there! What he said is right…" Mr Tonpa said as he turned around from us, letting us see his back. Gon stepped forward about to go after him until Mr Tonpa stopped walking and just continued to scratch the back of his head.  
"It seems like this time, there are many unique characters! Take a look!" Mr Tonpa said, turning his head over his shoulder and pointing behind him with a thumb. The four of us looked to where he was pointing, looking at all the individual people.

There was one guy who was bald and wore what looked like black armour and a red sash around his waist. I couldn't tell properly though as it was so dark and most of him was darkened by the darkness in the room, it just made him look that slightly more creepy as very little shine came off from his head.  
"Just between us…I'm a Ninja. It's true. I endure hard training every day." The bald man said. I looked at him questionably, I think he was lying. I looked at Gon and saw him staring at something. Letting go of my brothers' sleeve I quickly walked beside Gon, trying to see what he could see. I looked around for a little while before tugging on Gon's jacket sleeve.  
"What you looking at?" I asked him quietly enough for us to hear. Gon looked at me before pointing between the man who was a "Ninja" and the guy he was talking to. He stayed quiet. I followed his finger until I saw someone hidden and tucked away into the darkness. It looked like a kid our age, maybe slightly older. It was very dark, but from what I could tell he had very grey messy looking hair and wore dark clothing; what colour they were I couldn't tell. He did however hold a board under his arm.

Me and Gon just continued to stare at him with wide eyes as the boy looked back at us, not so interested looking; instead he looked quite annoyed with our staring. That's when a scream filled the air. I turned my head to try and find where the scream was coming from; however I was having a hard time trying to see in the dark. I wasn't like Gon, I couldn't see perfectly clear in the darkness like he could.  
"Help me!" Someone shouted, most likely the person who screamed that headache causing scream. Gon had turned his attention away himself and looked in the direction the scream and muttering came from. Mr Tonpa had also turned around as well as my brother and Leorio.  
"Damn, that dangerous guy is here again. Number forty four, Hisoka the Magician. Last year everyone thought he was sure to pass the Exam. But he was expelled after nearly killing a proctor he didn't like. Not only that, I heard there were more than twenty applicants who were disabled by him…I must warn you to stay away from Hisoka." Mr Tonpa explained to us, bitterness and fear evident in his voice. A lump formed in my throat, making me swallow hard. He was dangerous, who could tell that from where we were standing; you didn't need to be close to him to know that. It always amazed me how one man can cause so much trouble for everyone; but then again it shouldn't have.

After silence between us, Leorio had been the one to speak up after Mr Tonpa, asking the question I was sure was on all of our minds.  
"Can such a person be allowed to take the Exam again?" Leorio asked Mr Tonpa is shock and worry. Mr Tonpa turned his head towards Leorio, a smirk scratched across his face as his eye lids dropped in a cocky like manner.  
"Yeah. For the Hunter Exam, proctors are changed every year. The proctors decide the contents of the Exam. If the proctor says pass, even a devil can pass the Exam." Mr Tonpa explained to us, happy in his knowledge of the Exam that he held. He was certainly a good source of information, that was for sure but rather or not his information was credible was another thing. From what he was saying though, it seemed very credible.  
"That is the reality of the Hunter Exam!" Mr Tonpa finished off explaining to us. Another lump formed in my throat, making me swallow even harder; I was beginning to feel sick from all the nerves clustering up in my body. I didn't want to be here, but I knew I had to.

A bell suddenly filled the air, breaking the awkwardness of the room. All of us looked in the direction of the bell. I managed to spot a man with very dark hair and a moustache. He wore what looked like a suit. He descended from the top of the tunnel; a calm like feeling radiated off of him.  
"The call for applicants is now closed." The man said as he continued to drift down from the ceiling. He placed his hands behind his back and eventually disappeared into the crowd, cutting off my view from him.  
"I announce the start of the Hunter Exam." The man spoke calmly to us all. The tension and hostility in the room became even more noticeable. I continued to stand next to Gon, although the sick feeling in my stomach became greater and my legs felt heavy from the hostility and the general feeling of wanted to be sick.  
"Finally! The Hunter Exam!" Gon said cheerfully and excitedly. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes, wondering how he could be just so cheerful about this all. I looked forward again, bringing the top of my lip in between my teeth slightly, nibbling on the skin out of nervousness as I shifted my weight from one foot to another.  
"Please come this way…" The man said as he began walking away, at least that's what I assumed as I could hear footsteps going away from us.  
"Let me remind you. The Hunter Exam is extremely difficult. And if you are unlucky or incapable, you may get injured or even die. Only those of you who don't mind that risk should follow." The man spoke to us. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat; no one seemed to be moving back towards us. I took a deep breath and forced my heavy legs to move forward, this was it, this was the beginning of the Exam. This is the day I could show Sarah and Jerome how strong I've become by becoming a Hunter!

We hadn't been walking for that long. Our little group of four was among the giant crowd of Hunter applicants. I stood next to Gon by in front of my brother, I figured if I did that than I would force myself to continue moving forward as I didn't want to hold up my brother or be stepped on by him.  
"I shouldn't be surprised, but no one has left. I was hoping some would." Leorio complained as he looked around. I couldn't help but agree with Leorio, I was hoping someone would have dropped out as well; but no one did…unless you counted the man that screamed earlier but I think he died more than dropped out by the tone of his screaming.

I heard the footsteps beginning to quicken up, making me look around in confusion, my brows furrowed as I looked around while moving forward. Gon had said something, but I was concentrating too much on the quickening steps to hear what he had said.  
"Did you realize it, too?" Mr Tonpa asked, having appeared next to Leorio. I looked at him questionably as my own footsteps were forced to move quicker in fear that my brother would step on me; not on purpose of course.  
"The pace is accelerating." My brother said, making me turn my head slightly over my shoulder so I could look at him better through the corner of my eyes. I could hear the people in the front beginning to break into a jog and then into a run. I furrowed my brows slightly, I wasn't much of a runner; but I knew the basics. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth that was the best way according to my brother.  
"So this is what they came up with this year." Mr Tonpa said, now standing behind us. Me, Gon and Leorio looked over our shoulders at him, confusion written on our faces. Mr Tonpa just smiled cheekily at us, as if he was getting up to mischief.  
"It seems the Hunter Exam is just beginning!" Mr Tonpa announced to us, smiling cheekily at his own assumption. I furrowed my brows even more; this was the beginning of the Hunter Exam? What did this mean? What was the purpose of it? It made me nervous and feel even more sick not knowing what this meant and why we were doing this.

I turned my head back around once more to face the backs of the many applicants that were in front of us, hearing more and more people breaking out into a jog and then a run just to keep up with the person who told us to follow them.  
"I'm sorry to introduce myself now. I am Satotz, the proctor of Phase One. I'm leading you to the test site for Phase Two!" Mr Satotz had said to us, loudly enough for everyone to hear, including us in the back. I could hear gasps coming from the people in front; I however just became more and more confused. Did that mean the Exam was broken up into smaller parts? If that was the case than it must have been a very hard Exam.  
"Some of you may have realized… to keep up with me until we reach the Phase Two site… That is the task for Phase One." Mr Satotz said, making the rest of us in the back break into a jog and then a run; knowing now that we had to keep up with him if we wanted to get to Phase Two. Something told me this was going to be a very long Phase, or maybe it felt like that because I was feeling so sick; I wanted to be sick just to get rid of the feeling.

I had continued to run next to Gon and in front of my brother, using that as my motivation to keep myself going. The sick feeling was just getting worse; it felt like he had been running forever, maybe a few hours. I thought my lungs would set on fire, however I couldn't let that show; I just had to keep running and remember to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, that was the key.  
"How long have we been running?" Gon questioned as we pushed ourselves forward, he didn't sound like he was affected by this running at all; or even nervous! I envied him for it.  
"Well, I would say about thirty minutes at the most." Mr Tonpa said behind us, his breath becoming a little bit ragged from the running; that and it looked like he was carrying a few extra pounds which probably didn't help.  
"What a strange test!" Gon commented loudly as I nodded my head, humming in agreement at Gon's words.  
"Nope. This is the ideal test to try one's endurance. Not only that…" My brother began saying until being cut off by Mr Tonpa.  
"Yeah. Did you notice too?" Mr Tonpa said to my brother.  
"Notice what?" Me and Gon asked at the same time, wondering what my brother and Mr Tonpa had noticed as we kept our eyes forward at the rest of the people.  
"We don't know how far or how long we must run. But we must keep running as hard as we can. The psychological pressure is quite big. Besides sustaining physical strength, one's mental strength is being tested here." Mr Tonpa explained to us. I heard Gon smile widely as we continued to run; I couldn't help but smile slightly myself. I wasn't very good at mental tests, but if I just did what I was doing than surely I could pass this.  
"Suits me fine. I'll keep up with him all the way." Leorio said from behind Gon, determination dripping off every word he spoke.

I continued pushing myself forward and saw Gon turn his head slightly behind him to see Mr Tonpa from the corner of his eyes, the wide smile never leaving his face even though he now knew what this test was testing us for.  
"Say, Mr Tonpa." Gon began saying, grabbing Mr Tonpa's attention. Mr Tonpa replied with a slight questioning hum.  
"Since you've participated thirty five times, you must know many people around here." Gon said to him, raising a valid point. It seemed like to me he was using anything he could think of to try and make the time go a lot faster for us all. I had to admit though; I was also interested in who was around and what Mr Tonpa knew of them, that and it would make a nice distraction from all the running. I turned my head slightly over my shoulder to look at Mr Tonpa questionably with wide eyes. Mr Tonpa looked at Gon and smiled slightly at his question.  
"Sort of!" Mr Tonpa said to Gon. Me and Gon smiled widely, quickly turning our heads to each other and looking back at Mr Tonpa excitedly, wide smiles set onto our faces as we looked at Mr Tonpa hopefully.  
"Please tell us! I bet they're all amazing people!" Gon said excitedly as I nodded my head in agreement with my spikey haired acquaintance. Mr Tonpa just continued to smile at us as he nodded his head.  
"Sure I'll tell you." He said to us, making me and Gon smile even wider at him; excited to hear who some of the people were.

Mr Tonpa turned his head towards one of the applicants running next to him. I looked over myself. It was an elderly looking guy wearing a blue turban. He looked like he was wearing a lot of layered clothing, all dark in colour as if he came from either a very hot or very cold country. I couldn't quite see the number on his badge that was pinned to his chest.  
"Let's start with number one hundred and three. Bourbon, the Snake Charmer. Most of all, he is very vindictive." Mr Tonpa explained, and then looked over to another person making me and Gon follow his eye sight. He looked quite young. He had black hair and wore red clothing with yellow trims.  
"Next is number seventy six, Cherry, the Martial Artist. No one can surpass him in the martial arts!" Mr Tonpa explained before looking over to another person, with me and Gon doing the same as before.

This person looked very large. He had blonde hair on top, tied into a pony tail with black hair underneath that was cut short. He wore a dark blue shirt with light colour trousers. He seemed to be having an extra hard time with all the running.  
"Number two hundred and fifty five. The wrestler Todo. He is really strong and is smart too." Mr Tonpa explained, and then looked slightly to his left, staring at a group of three people who looked a little bit alike, they could only be siblings; or so I assumed.  
"Numbers one hundred and ninety seven to one hundred and ninety nine. The Amori brothers. By combining their efforts, they always get high scores…" Mr Tonpa explained to us as he began looking around the crowd of people, trying to comb through for anybody else that he knew.

Mr Tonpa looked to his right, wondering if there were any more people before perking up slightly when he spotted someone, making me and Gon turn our heads into the direction he was looking in.  
"And…Ah, there he is. Number three hundred and eighty four…Geretta, the Huntsman. He can Hunt any creature with a blow pipe and s club. He is very skilled." Mr Tonpa said to us as Mr Geretta turned his head towards us, smiling widely. He had very dark skin with big puffy black hair that was kept under a cap on his head. His clothing was dark; and seeing as it was dark in the tunnel I couldn't quite see what colour it was.  
"Lastly, number three hundred. Kai. This is his second time of taking the Exam; he dropped out last year when Hisoka was disqualified but no one knows why; however we were glad. It's troubling that his back this year." Mr Tonpa said, looking in the direction to his left. Me and Gon followed his eye sight until we met when he was looking at. There was a boy who looked maybe as old as my brother. He had long brown hair tied into a pony tail and wore a large black hoodie with blue slightly baggy jeans. Attached to something under his hoodie was a pair of daggers that bagged slightly against his thigh. He made me nervous, I could understand what Mr Tonpa meant when he said everybody was glad that he dropped out, something about his persons didn't seem right.

Me, Gon and even Leorio stared at Kai, who seemed completely unfazed by us staring, or he didn't know or care until Mr Tonpa spoke again.  
"Well, those are the regulars I see." Mr Tonpa finished off after looking around for maybe one more person that he knew here. Gon hummed slightly as he turned his attention back to Mr Tonpa.  
"Really. They all sound so great." Gon said to Mr Tonpa rather disappointedly. I shook my head, not agreeing with Gon's statement.  
"Kai…feels scary." I said to Gon quietly so only he could hear. Gon thought to himself slightly before smiling widely at me and shaking his head, not agreeing with what I said. I furrowed my brows slightly at him, Gon didn't seem to have a sense of fear; there was just so many things I was envious from this boy, his lack of stranger danger, his high trusting sense and his lack of fear; Gon was definitely something to be admired.  
"So what? The question is whether one can pass or not." Leorio said cheerfully, changing the mood of the run. I looked at Leorio slightly from the corner of my eyes and couldn't help but smile a slightly at his words; I guess he was right in a way, but if Kai got far last time then the chances were he was most likely going to get far, if not pass, this time.

Soon someone rolled pass us. It was the person who was hidden in the shadows that me and Gon were staring at earlier. I could see him clearly this time. His hair wasn't dark grey but dirty white instead. He wore a purple short sleeved shirt with a darker maroon long sleeved shirt underneath. His shorts were very dark blue, if not black, and he wore dark yellow and black trainers. He rolled pass us on a skateboard, which turned out to be the board he held under his arm while me and Gon stared at him. Me and Gon smiled widely at him, I couldn't ride a skateboard and by the looks of things Gon couldn't either as he was just as excited as I was.  
"Wow! That's so cool!" Gon commented excitedly as I nodded my head, completely forgetting about the uneasiness Kai admitted from his person.  
"Hey brat! You over there! That's unfair! Isn't that against the rules?!" Leorio called out from behind us angrily, mostly likely because the kid had a skateboard and was using it to his advantage.

The kid looked slightly over his shoulder at Leorio, however not enough so I could see his eyes; which unsettled me somewhat.  
"Hey. Who are you? How old are you?" Gon asked him questionably as I stared at the kid questionably as Gon did the same.  
"What is against the rules?" The kid asked, completely ignoring Gon's question. That seemed to happen a lot down here, people ignoring other people; it was a little bit rude to do so if anything.  
"This is an endurance test!" Leorio said to the kid. Gon turned his head to Leorio, looking at him with wide eyes and slightly shocked.  
"That's not true. The proctor just said to follow." Gon said as I nodded my head, turning it slightly over my shoulder to look at Leorio myself.  
"Remember what big brother and Mr Tonpa said? It's testing mental strength of the unknown." I said to Leorio innocently. Leorio glared at the two of us, turning his attention away from the boy on the skateboard.  
"Hey you two! Which one is your friend?" Leorio spat at the two of us. I looked at him confused, I wouldn't exactly call Leorio a friend, considering I only met him maybe a day or two ago; but I didn't want to tell him that, he already seemed mad at me about the whole Kiriko thing, I didn't want to give him another reason to be mad.  
"Don't yell! You'll run out of stamina. Besides, it's annoying!" My brother scolded Leorio, speaking up after staying quiet for quite a long time.

I looked at my brother over my shoulder as he was running slightly behind us and next to Mr Tonpa. He closed his eyes in thought as he continued running, keeping his own steady pace. It didn't look like he was struggling at all.  
"Basically, we can bring anything we like to the Exam." My brother explained to Leorio calmly. I looked back over my other shoulder again to see Leorio looking very annoyed with my brothers' answer. That's just how my brother was though, he knew a lot of things and took great pride in his knowledge, and it was his biggest asset. I didn't see a reason as to why he couldn't be proud of what he knew.  
"You're a new face, aren't you? I supposed you have many questions. If you like, you can…" Mr Tonpa began saying before stopping suddenly. I looked at him questionably and turned my attention back to the kid. I couldn't see why Mr Tonpa stopped talking as the kid was slowing down his speed and looking ahead of us. I moved over slightly so that I was running in front of Mr Tonpa, allowing the kid to go beside me and Gon. The kid looked at me and then looked at Gon as the two of us stared back at him.  
"What?" Gon asked him kindly as the kid stared between me and Gon, turning his head slightly to look at both our questioning faces.

Me and Gon stared at the kid as he stayed on his skateboard, keeping it to our running speed as he stared at us very blankly; although it wasn't threatening, it was just blank.  
"You asked me name, didn't you?" The kid asked Gon.  
"Yup. But you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Gon said to him cheerfully as I nodded my head in agreement, smiling a wide, toothy grin at the boy with very spikey dirty white hair. I could see his eyes this time, they were blue and very cat like.  
"I'm Gon. I'm twelve years old. This is Mishka; she's also twelve years old." Gon said cheerfully, introducing me and him. I held my wide smile and waved slightly at the boy. The boy hummed slightly to himself and looked forward again, taking his gaze off of me and Gon.  
"Twelve years old…" He repeated, humming the words to himself. He bent down slightly and grabbed the bottom of his skateboard, then jumped into the air.

I watched with wide eyes as he landed on his feet perfectly and ran instead, holding the board under his arm.  
"That's so cool." I said in amazement as the boy sped up a little bit to run with me and Gon. Gon looked at him slightly confused.  
"Aren't you using it anymore?" Gon asked him. The boy slowed down a little bit, running at the same pace as Leorio. He turned his attention to him as Leorio tried his best to ignore him.  
"Hey, old man. How old are you?" The kid asked Leorio. Leorio looked at the boy with annoyance, glaring heavily at the white haired boy. He seemed to be angry by his words; I didn't get why though Leorio was a lot older than the rest of us…maybe he was in denial about it all.  
"Huh?! I may not look like it, but I'm in my teens just like you!" Leorio said to us. Me and Gon looked at him in complete shock, that certainly wasn't right!  
"No way!"  
"You're kidding" Was the mix of words that came from us all. Leorio looked at me and Gon, furrowing his brows slightly, looking as if he was hurt by what we said.  
"Huh? You too, Gon? Mishka? How rude! We are not friends anymore!" Leorio announced to us. I looked at him confused; I didn't think we were friends in the first place. I felt a hand on my shoulder and then myself being pulled to the side slightly. I looked at the hand and followed it up to my brother, who looked between the mixture of disgust and shock. He moved us away from the small little group.  
"We better keep our distance." My brother said to me, keeping his eyes in front of him. I nodded my head slightly, agreeing to my brothers words; although I did want to run with Gon and the new kid that joined us.

We had been running for a while more. My brother let me run next to Gon on the condition that I only run next to Gon and not in front of Leorio; much to Leorio's distaste as my brother said it loud enough for him to hear. I of course agreed, as my brother knew best. The new kid ran slightly in front of me and Gon as we continued through the dark tunnel. We kept to one side of the tunnel, following Mr Satotz.  
"A fork…" I heard my brother say. Me and Gon turned our attention back to the kid with white hair, Gon with a wide smile on his face as I had one with question across it.  
"I wonder who is he, he looks about mine and Mishka's age." Gon said as I nodded my head agreeing with Gon.  
"He seems really cool." I said to Gon, smiling widely at him as Gon continued to smile widely himself.  
"I don't give a damn about who he is! Geez. What an annoying brat he is! His eyes…He looks dangerous." Leorio said. I saw Gon turn his attention to Leorio slightly confused. I had to wonder how he came to that conclusion, I didn't think he seemed dangerous, not the same kind of dangerous as Kai. He just seemed really serious about everything. Certainly not dangerous though.  
"You think so?" Gon asked Leorio confused.  
"Forget about that. Everyone is moving to the left. What'll happen if we go right? It could be a short cut and make it easy for us." Leorio questioned and then answered himself as Gon turned his attention forward again. I thought about it myself, it didn't seem like it was make it easier; and the proctor said to follow him. I wouldn't dare do something otherwise unless my brother did.

Something sweet began filling my nose. I sniffed the air slightly, and then sneezed. I scrunched up the top of my nose and covered it with my hands. I couldn't stand sweet things; the smell made me sneeze and the taste wasn't all that nice, I couldn't understand how people enjoyed things like sweets.  
"Oh? What is this? It smells sweet. It's coming from the right tunnel…" Gon questioned as he smelt the air as well, a small smile on his face. I shook my head slightly, dropping my hands once more so I could run probably; but still keeping my nose a little bit scrunched. I didn't want to smell the sweet stuff, whatever it was.  
"I don't know; but it's really gross." I said to Gon, sneezing once more, this time covering my mouth and nose with my hands as I was prepared for it.  
"It's true…I wonder what it is." Leorio said to us quietly. I didn't care what it was, as long as the smell went away soon and I didn't have to come near it, I didn't care. I just wish the smell stopped making me sneeze.

We had continued running in the tunnel. There was becoming less and less of us. People were dropping like flies left, right and centre. Somehow I was keeping up with Gon and my brother, I didn't know how but somehow I was. We were all spaced out now seeing as there weren't many people. I didn't know how long we were running, but it seemed like hours that felt like forever, it could have been another thirty minutes for all I knew.  
"We've come to a fork again. It's been about three hours… I wonder how long we have to keep running." I heard my brother commented, confirming my suspicions of it being hours. It sounded like even he was beginning to strain from all the running. We never had to run this long before, at least at once. If it was starting to put a strain on my brother, then it must be bad. But I had to keep pushing myself to go forward, I wanted to give up, but I couldn't. I had to keep going.

I sneezed once more when the sweet smell returned. It seemed to be coming only when we were getting close or next to forks in the tunnel. I covered my nose and mouth, scrunching my nose one last time as I sneezed again and shook my head. It was starting to get ridicules.  
"Again. That sweet smell… It's coming from the right tunnel." Gon said confused. I nodded my head and dropped my arms and hands once more, keeping my eye sight forward as we continued to run next to each other.  
"It keeps making me sneeze; I wonder why we're only getting it at the forks though." I said to Gon questionably as I furrowed my brows slightly.  
"Yeah. It smells like some kind of sap." Mr Tonpa said. I thought over his words, if it was sap then that meant there were tree's nearby. That meant that the right tunnel lead to the outside world, however the proctor wasn't turning down them, so they mustn't be the correct way.

From the corners of my eyes I saw Gon turn his head. I looked at him questionably and looked next to him. Leorio was no longer running beside him. I furrowed my brows slightly and turned my head over my shoulder to look behind me. Leorio was behind us, sweating, struggling to breathe or even run at our pace. It seemed like he was hitting his limit.  
"Are you all right?" Gon called out to him as we continued to run forward. Leorio was slowing down, sweat dripped off his face as he began flagging even more. He started muttering words to himself as he was slowing to a very unsteady walking speed. I furrowed my brows in worry; he wasn't going to make it to the Second Phase if he was flagging now. However, seeing what was happening to him was how I felt; but I continued to push myself forward…why wasn't Leorio doing the same? Leorio eventually stopped and bent his knees. He dropped his suit case and doubled over, breathing heavily. Me, Gon, my brother and Mr Tonpa all stopped and looked at him shocked.  
"Leorio!" Gon called out to him as the other applicants ran past us. Even though big brother said to keep away from Leorio, he looked like he really needed help.

Gon began running towards him as I got ready to do the same, my brother would scold me for breaking his words, but Leorio really needed the help even if we were just acquaintances. I'm sure my brother would understand.  
"Hey!" The kid who we were following called out. The four of us looked at him. The kid had stopped to and held his hands in his shorts pockets as he looked at us blankly once more. It didn't seem like he was good at showing facial expressions.  
"Are you guys dumb? He's done." The kid said to us as the tunnel quickly became empty, leaving just the six of us behind. I furrowed my brows slightly as Gon looked at him, upset by the kids' very harsh words. The kid didn't seem very cool anymore.  
"That's not true! Besides, I can't leave him. He's a friend." Gon said to the kid. The kids eyes widened slightly in surprise, as if he was confused about the word "Friend."  
"A friend?" He parroted after Gon. Gon looked at him with a slight glare as he spoke to the kid.  
"Yes. A friend." Gon said to the kid. The kid turned his attention to me, wonder in his eyes; wondering if I felt the same as Gon.

I looked at him with my best serious look, although it was hard to muster as I couldn't call Leorio a friend like Gon could.  
"He really needs help. So if Gon's helping him then I'll help Gon. He's been travelling with us; I think it'll be best if we could stay together if we could." I said to the kid with my best serious face. The kid looked even more confused at my words as we turned out attention back to Leorio, who was struggling to stand up straight.  
"Damn it! I will be a Hunter, no matter what, damn it!" Leorio yelled, bringing his head up and suddenly running towards us with a heavy struggle. I furrowed my brows in worry; he was going to collapse at any given moment if he continues what he was doing. Even with this little rest that was beneficial to most, Leorio seemed like he needed a lot of rest.  
"Hey! Don't overdo it! Rest a bit!" Mr Tonpa said to Leorio as he ran past us with a struggle, slowing down to an almost complete stop as he tried his best to catch up with the group that was now far away from us.  
"Shut up! If you're gonna waste time here, I'll leave you! Damn it! My legs won't move!" Leorio said as he fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath. The boy with white hair just stared down at him, as if trying to figure out why we were waiting for Leorio to catch his breath.

The four of us ran to his sides. What he was saying made it seem like he wasn't doing it just for the money; but for another reason. I stood next to my brother and gently placed a hand onto his back, rubbing it up and down; I wasn't sure of the purpose, but Sarah always did it when me and my brother came back from running with Jerome and it always seemed to help.  
"It's not only for the money, is it?" My brother questioned Leorio. I felt Leorio tense up underneath my hand from my brothers words.  
"Shut up! Money! It's for money! There's no other reason!" Leorio shouted, as if trying to convince himself more than us. It sounded like he was on the verge of tears. I kept rubbing his back, wondering if it was helping at all, I could only hope that it was.  
"It's not the time to argue about that. Mr Tonpa. What should we do?!" Gon asked in a panic, looking over at Mr Tonpa. I looked at Mr Tonpa as well as I kept rubbing Leorio's sweaty back. Mr Tonpa placed a hand to his chin in thought and stood up straight as he tried to think on how we could help Leorio.  
"Yes…that smell!" Mr Tonpa said in excitement. We all looked at him questionably, wondering what the smell had to do with anything.  
"At the fork… The sweet smell coming from the right tunnel! Hey! You may be able to recover your stamina!" Mr Tonpa said to us and then to Leorio, excitement in the words he spoke.

Leorio looked over to Mr Tonpa as I kept rubbing his back, I wasn't told to stop so I just continued. The rest of us also looked at Mr Tonpa, wondering what he was getting at.  
"What did you say?" Leorio asked him. I looked at Leorio worried; was he feeling that sick that he couldn't hear what people was saying now? I just hoped he wasn't sick otherwise I would have been sick myself, seeing as my own sick feeling hadn't left my stomach.  
"I knew I'd smelled it somewhere before. That must be the sap of the healing cedar tree…" Mr Tonpa said to us. I looked at him questionably, I never heard of a healing cedar tree. Although he did confirm my suspicions that there were indeed trees here, which meant there must have been an outside too.  
"The healing cedar tree?" Gon asked Mr Tonpa confused. Mr Tonpa bent down and began lifting one of Leorio's arms over his shoulder, then stood up slowly, bringing Leorio with him.

I removed my hand from Leorio's back and dropped it back to my side as Mr Tonpa stood up as straight and tall as he could with Leorio's arm over his shoulder.  
"Yeah… The sap is used by Hunters who become exhausted in the woods. If you sniff that smell for a while, you can recover your stamina temporarily." Mr Tonpa said as he began walking forward to take Leorio back towards the fork we ran past.  
"Wait a minute!" My brother commanded, making Mr Tonpa stop walking and look at him questionably.  
"What if it's a trap?" My brother questioned him. He seemed worried for the two men's safety. Mr Tonpa's eye lids dropped slightly as he looked at my brother with an odd gaze, as if knowing that there certainly may be a trap ahead for them.  
"Certainly that's possible. But, you can't just leave him here, right? It's a gamble we have to take." Mr Tonpa said to my brother.  
"But…" My brother began saying. Mr Tonpa smiled at us all, it was a kind and genuine smile, as if he accepted what he was going to do and what the results, rather they were good or bad, of his actions were.  
"Flunking all the time… Do you know why I've flunked thirty five times? It's because I'm such a silly, kind-hearted person." Mr Tonpa said to us, smiling down kindly at Leorio who looked like he had passed out on his shoulder.

I frowned widely at him, so that's why he flunked so many times. He helped the other applicants when they needed the help; he really was a kind person. If anyone did deserve to become a Hunter then it was certainly Mr Tonpa.  
"Mr Tonpa…" Gon said, trailing off in his words as he looked at Mr Tonpa in shock. Mr Tonpa looked back at us, keeping the kind, warm smile on his face.  
"Don't worry. When Leorio regains his strength, we'll catch up." Mr Tonpa reassured us. I saw Leorio move slightly and look at Mr Tonpa through the corner of his eyes. He seemed sorry about making Mr Tonpa help him in a time of need.  
"I'm sorry, Tonpa… Gon, Kurapika, Mishka. Don't mind about me. Go ahead!" Leorio instructed us. Gon furrowed his brows and frowned widely at Leorio as I looked at him sad. He was just an acquaintance, but we were travelling together and I actually wanted to keep it that way if I could.  
"But, Leorio…" Gon moaned, looking up at his exhausted friend. Leorio tried his best to glare down at the worried looking Gon, summoning all the strength he could muster to put into his weak glare.  
"Didn't you hear? I said go ahead!" Leorio yelled at him, making Gon just furrow his brows even more and look at him sadly. I frowned at Gon, furrowing my own brows; it was strange seeing him look sad, seeing as all the time we were travelling he's been really happy about everything and anything he came across. Mr Tonpa looked at us reassuringly, trying to put reassurance back into us.  
"Don't worry. I'll be with him. I haven't participated thirty five times for nothing. I won't be such a fool as to fall into an easy trap. Now. Go quickly!" Mr Tonpa said to us. I nodded my head in understanding, although I was still worried for Leorio; he seemed to be really struggling.

I watched Gon as he raised his hand into the air, holding tightly onto his fishing rode that I kept forgetting he had. He swung the rod forward, making the fishing line and lore fly into the air. It latched onto Leorio's suit case securely. With a flick of Gon's wrist, the suit case came flying back to him; which Gon caught with ease. He held the suit case out to Mr Tonpa for him to take, it was important as it held all of Leorio's medical things inside.  
"I understand. Please take care of Leorio." Gon said to Mr Tonpa as I nodded my head in agreement with him.  
"Please make sure he gets his stamina back so we can travel with us again!" I said to Mr Tonpa myself, looking up at the stocky man with hopeful eyes that he would do mine and Gon's request. Mr Tonpa nodded his head and turned around once more, walking back towards the fork in the road. We watched as they began disappearing into the darkness, soon, Leorio would have his stamina back from the healing cedar tree and travelling with us once more just like before. However, I was worried for Leorio; we were leaving our trust to an almost complete stranger, it made me feel uneasy and tense; the sick feeling in my stomach growing stronger once more…something didn't feel right.

We continued to stare down the empty tunnel. It was completely dark; we could no longer see their retreating backs. I grew worried for Leorio. What if Mr Tonpa was lying? Or what if Mr Tonpa did fall into a trap with Leorio? He wouldn't pass if that was the case and our travelling with him would stop as he would have to go home. I furrowed my brows and frowned widely at the thought. I felt a hand on my shoulder and followed it up to my brother. He looked worried himself. I looked forward once more; maybe we should have followed him.  
"What are you doing? Aren't you going?" The kid behind us said. I saw Gon turn around slightly from the corner of my eyes to face the kid behind us.  
"Oh, I'm sorry we made you wait. You can go ahead." Gon said as me and my brother turned around to face the kid. I smiled at him apologetically, as my brother kept a small smile on his face, his hand still on my shoulder in a reassuring manner.  
"Aren't you going?" The kid repeated to us, the blank stare on his face never leaving. It was almost as if he didn't know what people did for each other, rather they were friends or acquaintances; he seemed really confused about it all.  
"Not until Leorio comes back…" Gon said to the kid. The kid just looked at us blankly still, not getting the hint of how human feelings worked. He seemed almost robotic.

Silence filled the empty tunnel until Gon turned his attention to me and my brother. I looked at Gon as my brother did the same.  
"Kurapika, Mishka, I'm going back to see how they are. Although Mr Tonpa told us not to worry, I'm still anxious." Gon said to us. I nodded my head agreeing with him as my brother did the same.  
"Let us go with you. We can always catch up later." My brother said as I nodded my head once again.  
"Besides, I think it's only right if we all travel together again like how we started." I said to the two, looking between them. Gon smiled widely at us and turned his attention back to the kid with wild white hair. Me and my brother did the same. I smiled at him apologetically once more, having just met the kid we made him wait for us; even though we didn't mean to.  
"We'll be back. Then, I'll be happy if you told me your name. Because I don't know what to call you." Gon said to him as he continued to look at us blankly. I nodded my head agreeing with Gon, smiling widely at the boy with white hair.  
"You know our names after all." I said to him, smiling a wide toothy smile at him. Gon nodded his head as he kept his eyes on the boy with white hair.  
"Well, see you later." Gon said to him. With that, the three of us turned around and began running towards the direction that Mr Tonpa walked in with Leorio.

We had to catch up and see if they were okay. Like Gon, I was also worried about them; and couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt if something bad happened to them. After all, they wouldn't be able to protect themselves well, not with Leorio with no stamina and Mr Tonpa doing his best to support his weight across his shoulders' it would make for a difficult fight if they found themselves in one. I just couldn't shake off the feeling of uneasiness…something didn't sit right and I didn't know what.


	6. Trauma x Limit x Sweet Trap

Anime lover and all silent readers!  
**Anime lover – **I don't see why she wouldn't be able to have as much fun, she's just tinier; not missing a limb. On another note, I will be writing the movie at some point, probably in a few weeks' time.

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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The three of us ran back through the deserted and dark tunnel. There was no sign of people being here. They must have got up and left when they fell down from exhaustion. Or knew that the sweet smell was from the healing cedar tree and went there to get their stamina back… I mean surely more than one person knew what it did other than Mr Tonpa.

As we ran down the tunnel the sweet smell came back, making me sneeze into my hands once more. When I opened my eyes again I saw a familiar body lying on the floor near the wall of the fork. It was Mr Tonpa. I gasped to myself; he must have gotten himself into a trap! That meant Leorio was also in trouble. The three of us stopped and just stared at Mr Tonpa's body before Gon ran over to him.  
"Mr Tonpa! What happened?!" Gon asked in a panic state as he came to his side. I ran next to Gon just as he bent down to Mr Tonpa's level. Mr Tonpa struggled to push himself up. As he did he turned his head to face me and Gon, fear and panic in his eyes. Sweat dripped down his face.  
"I-It's bad…hurry. You must hurry to them." Mr Tonpa said, pointing in the direction that the sweet smell came from. I heard my brother's footsteps come up behind me as he stopped and looked at Mr Tonpa.

I quickly looked in the direction he was pointing to before looking back at the fear stricken Mr Tonpa.  
"What happened inside?!" My brother asked Mr Tonpa, although it seemed like he was demanding it more than asking. Mr Tonpa however didn't look phases by my brothers tone of voice, instead he was still scared and worried for what was going on inside.  
"I've never seen such a trap. Hurry!" Mr Tonpa pushed on. Me, my brother and Gon looked at each other before running down the strong smelling right fork. If it was bad, then every second counted to help Leorio and from what Mr Tonpa looked like it, it was horrific.

The sweet smell became stronger and stronger as we down it. The walls looked like they were covered in sap…but we weren't outside. I looked around the tunnel, sneezing a couple of times until I was forced to cover my nose and mouth with the sleeve of arm, trying my best to block out the smell. Soon another body became visible. It looked like the very short Mr Nicolas. He laid on the floor, arms outstretched. My eyes widened slightly, wondering if he was hurt.  
"It's Mr Nicolas!" I said to the two as we began slowing down when we got closer to him. We looked down at his motionless body, worried for his health and safety; at least I was and almost certain Gon was.  
"Nicolas…" My brother said as we stopped in front of him. His mouth was wide open, drool leaking from the corners. Tears draining from his eyes as snot ran down his cheeks. His face was covered in sweat. His number tag was gone. He looked like he had experienced something terrible, something that induced great fear into him.  
"What's the matter? What happened to you?!" Gon questioned Mr Nicolas as we stared at his motionless body. I wondered if he was ever going to get up and move, or if he was down for good.

All was quiet as he began moving. He pushed himself over onto his hands and knees, his shoulders bouncing up and down as he laughed almost manically to himself. I took a small step backwards behind my brother as Mr Nicolas turned his head to look at us. His eyes wide in fear as his brows furrowed, crying and laughing at the same time. He really did look like a terrible mess.  
"Nicolas…" Gon repeated, trailing off in his words. Mr Nicolas though took know notice of us and instead turned his head towards the tunnel as he continued to laugh and cry at the same time. He pushed himself off the ground and slowly turned around, making me slip behind my brother even more. Mr Nicolas began walking back in the direction we came from continuing his laughing and crying. It was as if he wasn't there anymore, that any sort of thing that made him him was just gone.

We watched him silently as Mr Nicolas walked down the empty tunnel. I furrowed my brows, whatever was down there was something truly terrible. The three of us looked at each other, my brothers' expression turning serious.  
"Let's hurry. We must find Leorio!" My brother said, making me and Gon nod our heads in response. We had to get to Leorio before he ended up like Mr Nicolas. Mr Tonpa by the looks of things was lucky enough to get away, but it might not have been the same for Leorio and that's what scared me. With that, the three of us took off down the sweet smelling tunnel once more in hopes of finding Leorio before it was too late.

The three of us ran down the hall way trying to spot anything that looked like Leorio, or anything that may even lead to him. The task though was becoming more and more difficult as the sweet smell got stronger and stronger, making me sneeze more and more.  
"Leorio! Answer me!" Gon called out as we ran down the hall way.  
"Leorio!" Me and Gon shouted together in hopes that our voices would be heard. I heard a gasp come from my brother and stopped to look behind me. My brother had stopped on the spot, his eyes wide in fear. I furrowed my brows as I quickly ran back over to him, Gon following me closely behind.  
"What's wrong?" Gon asked as I began tugging on my brothers' sleeve in hopes to get him to move forward. When he wouldn't move I became worried. My brother wasn't scared of anything, especially something he couldn't see; so why did he stop?

I moved back, pulling Gon back with me as my brother drew out his Bokken swords and held them in a cross in front of him as if he was defending himself against something.  
"The Phantom Troupe…" My brother said, clenching his teeth hard together and closing his eyes. My eyes went wide as I quickly looked behind me. There was no one there, not a single soul in the sweet smelling tunnel…just us. I looked back at my brother to see his eyes had turned scarlet. I just grew more worried and began walking towards him again.  
"Kurapika…" Gon said as I stopped next to my brother. My brows furrowed as I reached up to tug on my brothers sleeve, not sure how else to get him to snap out of his hallucinated state.

That was when everything began vanishing around me. Gon and my scared looking brother had completely disappeared from sight. The tunnel we were standing in vanished with them. Instead it was replaced with the sight of a burnt and torn village with bodies littering the entire scene. I knew exactly what village it was; it was mine and my brothers. I felt my eyes turn scarlet in fear as my arm dropped to my side once more. I had to get away, flee, run, anything to tear myself away from there. And yet, I found myself walking towards the massacred village centre. My feet carried me on their own, my fear was not enough to stop my growing curiosity in hopes that maybe it was different even though I knew it wasn't.

As I walked forward slowly, I looked around the broken and burnt village. I couldn't stop myself from walking forward. Smoke raised in the air as if the fires had gone out recently. My skin felt damp as well as my clothes and it was only then that I noticed it was raining. It felt so real and yet it couldn't be, I was miles away from my home. But yet, I was here, standing in the broken village, slaughtered for the scarlet eyes that were treasured so much by the outside world.

I inched little by little until I stood in front of one of the bodies. I just stared, too frightened to move. Briefly looking beside me I saw another set of footprints much smaller than my own. I could somehow recognise them as my own. That meant I was here not too long ago. I turned my attention back to the body. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat but to no anvil. Taking a deep breath I slowly bent down, my hand outstretched. It gently glided against the persons shoulder; however they didn't move to my touch. I brought my hand back quickly as if I had just scolded it. I couldn't bring myself to move the person; it would only confirm my suspicions.

My attention turned to a house, my house to be more precise. The lump in my throat returned once more as I forced myself over to it. I glanced at the damp ground once more, the little footsteps led to the same place I was forcing myself to return to. I followed the small footprints until they disappeared into the house. The door was already open most likely from the younger me entering. Mud trailed inside from the smaller one, urging me to go forward and follow. I did just that; I followed the little footsteps.

Something just felt so strange, surreal. Sarah always said the worse thing about being a Blacklist Hunter for her was when she had entered places where children were evident. She always said it was something about the presence of a possibly dead child that made places that much more terrifying and not the criminal themselves. But I knew I wasn't dead.

I looked around the broken house. There was evidence of a fight taking place. Blood splattered across the walls and floor showed that much. I looked up the wooden stairs. They looked unsafe, as if they were going to fall at any given moment. As I began making my way towards them I heard more footsteps behind me and quickly swung around to see a familiar face. Standing behind me was a familiar blonde who looked my age. I instantly recognised the person to be my brother. He rushed passed me after shouting something, although I couldn't hear what he shouted. I just stood there, silently, watching my brother run up the dangerous stairs; he almost fell through them a couple of times.

I remembered it all so clearly. After I left my hiding spot where a friend had told me to hide until they came back, I had found everyone dead and my friend wasn't anywhere to be seen. I began making my way up the stairs; I just had to see if it was the same, just to clear my own mind.  
"So you have returned." A voice said behind me, stopping me dead in my tracks. I gingerly turned my head around to see a familiar person; but taller and older looking.

I squinted my eyes and blinked a couple of times to make sure it wasn't the scarlet colour messing with my vision. The person had brown short hair, slightly pale but not much, they had more colour in their skin than I did. They wore maroon clan robes with gold trim. Underneath the robes were greyish training clothes, the trousers stuffed into brown boots on their feet. What caught my attention were the bandages around their eyes.  
"P-Pairo?" I questioned hesitantly, glued to the first step of the stairs, my hand tightly holding onto the rail. The figure nodded their head and began walking forwards. Out of instinct I took a step back, my hands rushing to where my bag was, only to find it was no longer there. I looked at my side in panic and then back to Pairo, who stood in front of me with a calm smile on his face.

My brows furrowed in panic and fear as my eyes went wide, there was nowhere to escape. How could he be alive? I knew he was dead; everyone was dead in our village and clan. Me and big brother were the only people left alive. The fear had finally got to me. I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth and nose and doubled over, my eyes still wide in fear. That's when I was sick. I could feel vomit run through my fingers. All it was was stomach acid and lining, seeing as I hadn't had anything to eat over the last couple of days since we left Whale Island. I felt a hand on my back, gently patting it before lightly rubbing it as I continued to look at the ground.

As comforting as the gesture was meant to be, I couldn't find any comfort in it and instead found myself scooting away to the wall of the stairs, away from the railing and away from him. Once I felt fingers slipping off my back I quickly made a dash off the stairs and towards the door. I ran out of it and quickly shut the door behind me hoping it would buy me a little bit of time. I was outside once more and looked around in a sheer panic, trying to find somewhere to escape to; somewhere I could run and hide until my big brother found me. However, I knew there was nowhere. Pairo knew all my hiding spots in the village and odd places we were allowed to go within the grounds. He would find me in an instant.

I breathed heavily as I looked around the broken, massacred village. I felt a hand on my shoulder and instantly tensed up, my eyes growing wider in fear to the absolute limit. Gingerly, I turned my head to look at the hand, and then traced it back up to the person it belonged to. I met once more with Pairo's face; only this time there was no bandages, only empty eye sockets. I screamed out of fear while ribbing my shoulder out of his grasp and backing away from my eyeless friend, who I once looked up to as another older brother.

I backed away from him slowly as he continued to walk forward, an odd look of hurt over his face as I breathed heavily.  
"Don't go. You left the spot I told you to stay at last time. I came back and you weren't there! Are you going to do that again? Just leave without waiting for me to come back?" He asked me as he continued to walk forward. I shook my head as I brought my hands to my head, shaking I violently and closing my eyes tightly shut.  
"There…I waited…I really waited and…you…me and big brother…I'm sorry!" I shouted at him, trying to find words to say, words to justify why I didn't listen to his instructions and yet I couldn't. I couldn't find anything to justify my actions on why I left the hiding spot. There was no justice to it, I just did it because I thought I needed to try and find him, try and find anybody.

I felt myself run once more away from the house and away from him. I wasn't going to hide; as I knew Pairo would find me wherever I hid. If I was honest I wasn't too sure as to why I was running. There was no one else here, I knew that much.  
"Mishka wait!" I heard Pairo shout out from behind me as I continued to run. As I ran away from him though I just ran into more and more destruction of our little village, littered with more and more eyeless corpses. I even began looking through the windows of each house, trying to find anybody alive in there, anybody that could help me. But my search was turning up fruitless every time.

I eventually stopped running. I stopped near the clan Elder's home. That too was not spared from the massacre or fire. My lungs felt like they were on fire as I breathed heavily, before dropping down to my knees, just staring at the broken building. Thoughts ran through my mind, what if I had stayed and waited for Pairo like I was told? What if I didn't go round his house that day? Would I have ended up like my mum and dad? Would have things turned out differently? Yes, if I stayed and waited everything would be different; maybe Pairo would be alive. Or maybe if I stayed at my house that day, none of this would have happened and we would still be all together, laughing, playing, getting up to our usual things like we did when we were little. I would see them all everyday once more and life would be happy.

There was footsteps getting closer and closer to me, but I didn't dare turn around to face the person. I just continued to stare at the building, waiting for something to change about it, waiting for the elder to come out and scold me for loitering outside his home. Anything to make it seem normal once more. The footsteps stopped behind me. The person it belonged to laid their hands onto my shoulders as I just stared up at the elders building. I swallowed hard, not daring to turn around.  
"Hey, Pairo…" I began saying, trailing off in my sentence. I heard him hum slightly as my vision stayed glued to the Elder's house. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard before continuing to speak again.  
"What…what do you think I should do? I'm not very strong, or very smart. I think…I think I'm just pulling big brother back by following him around…so what should I do?" I asked him, continuing to stare at the Elder's house through scarlet vision. I heard him hum once more in thought to my question.  
"Well…what are you doing now?" Pairo asked me. I thought to myself, looking down at the ground slightly before looking back up at the Elder's house.  
"I'm…trying to become a Hunter. A Blacklist one. I want to help big brother catch everyone that did… that did this to our village. I don't want more people to end up like this; no one deserves to end up like this." I said to him, taking in a deep breath after a finished talking.

I stepped forward a little bit, tearing the hands away from my shoulders and quickly turned around on the balls of my feet. I stared up at Pairo's face. It was shadowed, but I knew it was still eyeless. I stared up at the shadowed face. I swallowed hard once more as I stared up to him. Pairo thought for a second to himself, placing a hand on his chin and crossing his other arm across his chest. He looked deep in thought until he smiled kindly.  
"You know, you haven't changed one bit. I think, you should do what you want to do. I know you, you have a very strong feeling about this; I can tell. I think you should become the Blacklist Hunter you know you can be." Pairo said to me, taking me back by utter surprise. I stared at him wide eyed as he brought up his face, smiling widely, his eyes closed in pure joy as he laughed slightly to himself.

I however, just continued to stare at him confused, wondering what he was laughing at. Pairo stopped his laughing and opened his eyes, revealing that his eyes were back in their place. Not empty sockets like they had been before, but there fully once more. I couldn't move, or breathe, basic functions suddenly felt like a task.  
"Follow me for a second okay?" He asked me. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't nod, but I didn't shake my head either. Instead, I felt my feet carry me forward, following my deceased friend without a word. But…I felt okay with that, for whatever reason, followed Pairo felt okay at the moment.

As I followed him back to the main village I took a look at my surroundings. The buildings weren't broken or burnt. Bodies didn't litter the ground. Everything seemed…normal. Everything seemed like the days before everybody died. I looked up at the sky; it had stopped raining and instead shone brightly. I was more confused than ever as I followed my friend.

Pairo took me back to my house. I stopped immediately as I stared up at the building. It was back to normal again. It didn't look like it was falling apart. The eerie feeling was gone from it. My house no longer felt threatening. Instead, it looked warm, welcoming, and just like it had been before everything happened. I couldn't move towards it though, I was glued to the spot as I stared up at the house. I felt Pairo grab my hand and pulled me forward with him, making me snap my head up to him. He smiled kindly as he opened the door to my house.

I looked inside. The house was clean again, there was no sign of fighting, no smell of death. No…it was all back to normal. I turned around to quickly face Pairo, my brows furrowed in confusion as I stared up at him, wondering what was going on, wondering what was happening. He didn't say a word. All he did was point his head in the direction of the living area. I slowly turned my head to that direction and gasped to myself at what I saw. Standing in front of me were my parents. My dad stood tall, short black hair and pale, but alive looking, skin. His robes were black in colour with grey trim. Underneath were white training clothes. The shirt was long sleeved and stopped at his wrists, the same with the trousers which stopped at his ankles.

Next to him was my mother. She had short blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin was a little darker than my dad's. Her dress tabard was a reddish colour with light pink trim. She also wore white training clothes underneath; the shirt stopped just a little bit after her elbow and the trousers stopped at her ankles. She wore gold bracelets on her wrists. They were both smiling widely at me as I just stared at them in disbelief.

The room was silent as I just continued to stare. I was confused, I didn't know what was going on and yet…I didn't really want it to stop either. But…something kept telling me this wasn't real. I knew it wasn't real. I had found their bodies myself all those years ago upstairs. I knew they were dead. But here they were, standing there as if nothing had happened.  
"Look at you. You've grown so much; you're turning into quite the pretty young lady." My mum said to me kindly, keeping the smile on her face as my dad nodded his head in agreement. I however stayed quiet as I stared between the two of them.  
"Kurapika's doing a good job. I don't think there's anything for us to worry about." My dad said, smiling the same kind smile as my mum. I, however, remained quiet as I just stared at the two of them, trying to figure out what was happening; but yet I didn't want to either. I just wanted to go with everything that was happening and let it happen.

As I stared at the two they began walking forward. My mother bent down to my height, placing her hands onto her knees as she smiled at me. I stared at her face. It looked okay, her eyes were back and she looked alive. My father stood next to her and placed a hand onto my shoulder, keeping the same smile on his face.  
"We just want you to know that we're proud of you. Of you and your brother. You've both faced things at an age you shouldn't have to face and yet you've both overcome things that should be near enough impossible." My mother said to me as I heard footsteps walking up behind me. I turned my head a little to see Pairo standing behind me, keeping the kind smile on his face, the same one as my mum and dad.  
"Keep following your goal and let nothing stand in your way. No matter what people may say to you to bring you down, keep working towards your goal and you'll achieve it." Pairo said confidentially to me, placing his hand on my other shoulder as I just stared at his face, wide eyed, taking in everything that was being said.

I turned myself around and looked up at Pairo, then swung my arms around his body pulling him into a hug and burying my face into his stomach. I felt him wrap his arms around me, hugging me back. I brought my head up and looked at his face once more; trying my best to look determined considering the circumstances of what was happening.  
"I'll try my best I promise!" I said to him determined. I never received a worded reply. Instead, I received a nod with a kind smile, before he disappeared from sight fully. I felt my arms drop to my side as I stared at the spot he once was, then turned back to my parents, who continued to stand there, smiling kindly at me.

I turned to my dad and hugged him tightly like I had done with Pairo. Like Pairo, my dad hugged me back tightly. I buried my face deep into his robes, not wanting to let go now that I knew he would go away soon like Pairo…I didn't want him to go away. Now while he was here now.  
"Make sure you and Kurapika look after each other, alright?" My dad said to me. I nodded my head into his robes, not daring to speak a word. Like Pairo, my dad too disappeared. I caught myself before I fell forward and dropped my arms to my sides. He too was now gone and the only people left in the room was me and my mum. I didn't want her to go. I was always close to my mum and now that she was here, right next to me, I didn't want her to go away again. In the realisation that she would, I dropped to my knees, just staring at the spot my dad was.

I turned my head to my mum, my brows furrowed. I felt like I was going to break down and cry at any moment. My mother slowly walked towards and bent down to my level, sitting on her own knees. I felt her pull me into a tight hug with my head rested on top of her shoulder. I gritted my teeth together and closed my eyes tightly as I felt my shoulders shake.  
"You'll be fine. Make friends, grow and have fun. The world is dark and it is dangerous outside the clan walls, but you'll be fine; I know you will." My mum said to me kindly. I couldn't hold it in any longer and broke down. I wrapped my arms tightly around my mums' neck, burying my head into her shoulder; not wanting her to disappear just like dad and Pairo. Her shoulder was becoming damp as I cried into it.

My mum pulled me back, her hands lying gently on my shoulders and smiled kindly at me as I stared back at her through blurred vision. That's when my cheek began stinging as if someone had struck it. I stared at the wall with wide eyed, tears still running down my face, however my vision was no longer scarlet. The wall wasn't wood anymore; instead it was dark. I blinked a couple of time, taking in where I was and looked around slowly. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked at it, then trailed it back to who it belonged to. It belonged to my brother, who looked at me very worried. He was sitting on his knees just as I was sitting on my legs, my bag resting against my left calf. I slowly looked around some more, Gon looked worried himself. I also spotted the boy with white spikey hair, the one whose name I didn't know.

I slowly turned my attention back to my brother, who still looked worried. I felt sore, weak, as if I had been asleep for a very long time. I slowly brought up my hand and rubbed my cheek with the back of it, before wiping my eyes with my training shirt sleeve.  
"Why…does my cheek hurt?" I questioned slowly as I brought down my arm. My vision had turned clear after I wiped my eyes. I heard my brother sigh in relief as he kept his hand on my shoulder. Gon smiled in relief himself, his shoulders dropping.  
"You snapped out of it. Kurapika slapped you to help you wake up." Gon explained to me. I looked up at him slowly before looking back at my brother confused, my brows furrowed. I looked between them all once more, staying rooted to the ground.  
"This is Killua." Gon said, looking at the spikey haired boy. I looked at him myself, nodding my head slightly. Killua just stared down at me with the blank expression, his skateboard held securely underneath his arm.  
"There is no healing cedar. Tonpa tricked us. This is sap from the Illusion tree. What you were seeing was a hallucination of something you dread the most. If I hadn't of slapped you, your mind would have been destroyed." My brother explained to me, making me look at him once more. I thought over it that did make sense, so I could understand why people were worried. However, my hallucination turned good in the end…at least I thought it had.

I didn't dare say anything about it to my brother or the others. I felt myself being pulled up with my brother and looked between the group some more. I looked at the walls again, they were still sweet smelling, so we were still in the right tunnel.  
"So…how are we getting out of here?" I asked them, looking at them questionably as I held onto my brothers' sleeve tightly, refusing to let it go. It was actually a scary thought, thinking that my mind could have been destroyed.  
"Killua's going to blow up the wall. It's a good thing we found you first otherwise we would have blown you up too." Gon said cheerfully as he smiled widely. I looked at Killua, smiling a little and nodding my head to the idea. I didn't know any other way we could get out, not without never being able to catch up to the group at least.

We watched as Killua threw something away from us towards the back of the sap covered wall. He quickly turned around and bent down, as if preparing himself for something. Me, Gon and my brother quickly did the same. I let go of my brothers training shirt as we bent down low to the ground, the three of us placing our hands on the back of our heads to protect them.  
"So how long until this goes off, Killua?" I asked Killua, staring at him through the corner of my eyes. Just as I finished my sentence, the bomb exploded, sending us forward with the blast. As we were blasted forward Leorio came into view. Gon smashed into him, causing him and Leorio to fall to the floor, with Gon landing on his back. Killua and my brother landed on their foot and knee as I tumbled to the ground on my side.

I slowly pushed myself off the ground, sitting on my hands and knees, gritting my teeth slightly together. That was a rougher landing than I had hoped for. I looked behind me as my brother did the same. The walls behind us were no longer covered in sap; the sweet smell had become noticeably not as strong. Using the bomb was quite clever, if not dangerous.  
"That sure was quick…but rough. We can't turn back now." My brother said as I nodded my head in agreement. The wall had been completely destroyed by the bomb, blocking off any way of returning back to that path. Not that I wanted to in the first place.

I saw Leorio beginning to sit up, his hand on his head in pain, his eyes closed tightly. He began opening them slowly and looked at me, my brother and Gon as we smiled widely at him.  
"Gon! Kurapika! Mishka!" Leorio said as he began looking around, as if looking for someone he was just with.  
"Pietro?" Leorio questioned confused. I couldn't help but look at him sympathetically. I was with my mum, dad and Pairo in my hallucination; whoever Pietro was must have been really important to him.  
"The smell of the sap in the wall made you hallucinate. You were tricked by Tonpa." My brother said as me and Gon began sitting up probably. Leorio looked around some more, trying to gain a better understanding of is surroundings.  
"A hallucination! I guess I was saved in the nick of time. But it didn't affect you guys?" Leorio questioned as he turned his attention back to us. My brothers look softened slightly as he thought over carefully about the words he was going to say.  
"I almost got into trouble…Mishka was suffering from it badly…" My brother said trailing off in his sentence. Gon however remained unfazed by what was happening and continued to smile widely at Leorio.  
"I was fine." Gon said cheerfully to Leorio, holding onto his fishing pole tightly with his hands. Leorio smiled gently at Gon, his brows furrowing slightly at Gon's very cheerful attitude.  
"That trap wouldn't work on you, Gon! You don't seem to have any worries." Leorio said to Gon, trying to lighten up the whole mood in the tunnel, despite what he might have seen.

I looked around the tunnel, trying to see if I could find another way out. It looked like we would have to go the bomb root again. The tunnel didn't remain quite for long as Killua, the spikey haired bomb keeper, began speaking to Leorio.  
"Hey, old man. There's no time for chattering." Killua said to Leorio, his blank expression now showing a very small smile; although his eyes still remained somewhat…lifeless. It was a little bit weird. Leorio glared at Killua, offended that he was called an old man.  
"Old man! Hey, you're…" Leorio began saying until he stopped, realising he didn't know Killua's name.  
"His name is Killua." Gon said as Killua began digging through his shorts pockets with his free hand.  
"Let's get going." Killua said, keeping the small smile on his face as he pulled out three more of the little bombs. I looked at them properly now that he was holding them. They were very small, and a long cylinder shape. Killua pressed the tops of all the bombs then threw them over Leorio's shoulder and towards the back of the tunnel.  
"Click? Could that be…" Leorio began saying confused as he watched the bombs smack against the ground and towards the back of the tunnel. Me, Gon, my brother and Killua quickly took ourselves to the wall of the tunnel and squatted down once more with our hands on the back of our heads. I had taken the space next to my brother and Gon, seeing as I didn't know Killua that well.  
"A bomb?!" Leorio questioned loudly as the bombs began exploding. It didn't sound like he was ready for it to go off, not as ready as we were anyway.

The tunnel wall blew opening throwing the five of us out through the hole. Killua had used his skateboard as we were thrown out. Leorio was throw over the top of us all and landed on the ground first, flat onto his stomach and face. Smoke filled the tunnel as we landed on the ground. I, once again, landed on my side as my brother landed on his feet and Gon landed on his hands and knees. I began pushing myself up from the ground, clenching my teeth slightly. I was definitely going to be sore later on today.  
"What is going on?" Mr Satotz questioned through the smoke. As the smoke was clearing I looked at Mr Satotz with an apologetic smile for blowing up the tunnel wall. Gon laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head, his own brows furrowing apologetically.  
"Sorry, we broke the wall." Gon said to him, apologising for blowing up the wall. Mr Satotz turned away from us and looked towards the front of the tunnel once more, his expression never changing, nor did his body language.  
"I never said that you couldn't destroy the wall. You came back alive after wandering into the Tunnel of Hallucination. I'm very impressed." Mr Satotz said to us as a crowd began gathering around us.

Me and Gon began standing up after Leorio and my brother had done. Killua had taken a spot next to me and Gon as we stood in a small circle between the three of us. Gon smiled widely, excited about what had happened with the whole wall exploding. I couldn't help but smile at his smiling face; it was a nice thing to see after hallucinating. Leorio turned around and began stomping angrily over to someone. I looked to see if I could spot who he saw and saw him stop in front of Mr Tonpa.  
"How dare you! I will never forgive you!" Leorio threatened as he picked up Mr Tonpa with one hand by his shirt front. Mr Tonpa looked at him nervously as he laughed nervously at Leorio's actions and words.  
"Stop it, Leorio." Gon said as the four of us began walking towards Leorio and Mr Tonpa, just in case Leorio decided he was going to beat Mr Tonpa to a pulp. Gon furrowed his brows as he looked at Leorio, who turned around and glared at us angrily.  
"Shut up! Gon, doesn't he piss you off?" Leorio questioned Gon angrily as Mr Tonpa continued to dangle from Leorio hand.  
"There are always obstacles in the test." My brother said to Leorio. Leorio growled slightly and gritted his teeth hard as he closed his eyes in frustration. He dropped Mr Tonpa back onto the ground, who continued to laugh nervously as well as look at Leorio nervously. If he tricked someone, surely he would know that there were consequences with it?

We were eventually back to running through the tunnel once more. Me and Gon ran next to each other as Killua ran next to Gon. I was going to do what my mum said to do, make friends and have fun. She was right about the world, even if she didn't see the world outside the clan, it was dark and dangerous. So if I made friends, it would probably turn lighter.  
"Thank you, Killua." Gon said as he turned his head towards Killua. I did the same and nodded my head, agreeing with Gon.  
"Yes, thank you." I repeated after Gon, showing my own gratitude for Killua's help. Killua continued to look ahead of himself, his face going back to the blank one we first met him with. It was almost as if he wasn't used to smiling.  
"I didn't mean to help you. I told you. This is a game…" Killua said to us, making me and Gon looked at each other confused before looking back at Killua confused. Killua thought this was just a game? Each to their own I guess but still…it was odd that he thought this was just all a game.

As the three of us fell silent I noticed more and more applicants had dropped out. I looked around as we ran forward; the guys that Mr Tonpa had talked about earlier were still here that included Kai; the person who seemed dangerous even though I never met him. I just hoped that I didn't have to meet him.  
"Well, everyone. We're about to make the last dash. I'm going to pick up the pace." Mr Satotz said as he began walking even faster. The crowd moaned as an answer to him. I looked up ahead and sighed myself. We were going to be running up a practically vertical wall. That was going to be interesting. I took a deep breath as we continued running forward; at least there was what looked like light at the end of the practically vertical run.

Me, Gon and Killua had managed to get to the front of group as we continued running up. We were breathing heavily but we were determined to get out of the tunnel. The bright light was beginning to seem more like a mirage than the actual thing.  
"Hey, Mishka. What did you see in the tunnel? It seemed really bad so you don't have to say." Gon asked; making me turn my head to look at him, then look at Killua who looked at me with slight interested. I turned my head back to the front of the tunnel once more, thinking over it. I turned my head back to Gon and Killua.  
"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell big brother okay? He's already got enough to worry about." I said to them. Gon nodded his head, smiling widely and agreeing to the conditions. Killua remained quiet as he just continued to stare. I looked ahead of me once more, nodding my head and taking in a deep breath.  
"I saw what seemed like the past. My village was destroyed just like it was when me and my brother left. I…met a friend who I looked up to like a big brother. It was scary at first; but as the hallucination went on it turned out okay. I even saw my mum and dad." I explained to Gon and Killua as we continued running up the practically straight wall, hoping that we were nearing the exit soon. I sighed slightly to myself as I continued on with my story.  
"I guess…I really needed the reinsurance that everything was okay despite what happened. I guess…I just wanted to say bye properly." I said to the two, finishing off my story; deciding it was best not to go into the story graphically or fully, just giving them the important parts, like meeting Pairo and my parents.

We stayed silent as we continued running up the practically vertical wall. We stayed near the front of the group as if leading them towards the exit. More and more applicants were dropping out, almost like flies as they just couldn't take the run anymore. Even I was beginning to struggle, but as we were on the last stretch I just had to continue.  
"I can see the exit!" Gon announced cheerfully as we continued running forward. I smiled widely myself as soon as I saw the light getting brighter and brighter, closer and closer. We were so close now.  
"You two look happy." Killua said to me and Gon. The two of us looked at Killua confused, wasn't he happy to finally see the exit? Unless he liked really dark and dreadful looking placed like this.  
"Killua, aren't you happy?" Gon asked Killua confused as I continued to stare at him wide eyed and confused, wondering the same thing.

Killua turned his head away and closed his eyes in slight annoyance to Gon's question.  
"Not really. It's only an exit. What a boring test it is. It's not even a game." Killua said as we continued to run forward, getting further and further away from everyone behind us and just catching up to Mr Satotz. I looked at Killua even more confused, before turning my head forward once more to stare at the light at the end of the tunnel.  
"It's only as boring as how you make it." I said to Killua, smiling widely as I continued to look forward.  
"And if you pass, you can become a Hunter." Gon said excitedly as the light began shining on our faces as we got closer to the exit with Mr Satotz. I saw Killua open his eyes and turn his attention back to in front of him as we continued running forwards.  
"Why are you so eager about becoming a Hunter?" Killua questioned Gon confused, looking at him from the corner of his eyes, keeping the same blank expression on his face.  
"My dad is a Hunter. I bet he's a great Hunter." Gon said, making me smile widely about Gon's story. He wanted to be like his dad, becoming a great Hunter like his dad. That was his dream and it was a nice one, not one filled with a heavy burden like mine and my brother's goal.  
"You bet?" Killua asked him, confusion evident in his voice.  
"Yup. I was raised at my Aunt's house. I only know my dad from a photo." Gon said to Killua, seeing as I already knew some of the story because of what he told the Captain on the ship that took us to Dolle Island. Killua remained quiet as he stared at Gon confused, wondering why his motives were like that. I continued to smile widely to myself as we ran forward towards the light and exit; I would be happy once I could get outside again instead of being in this stuffy tunnel.  
"But it's okay! I want to be a Hunter like my dad." Gon finished off, making Killua stay quiet.

I saw Killua turn his head towards the exit once more as we continued running forward. Gon elbowed my arm a little gaining my attention. He pointed his head towards the skateboard under Killua's arm. I looked at the board and then looked at Gon, smiling widely and nodding my head, getting a little bit of what he wanted to ask.  
"Hey, that thing." Gon began saying, gaining Killua's attention once more. Killua looked at me and Gon as we looked at him smiling widely.  
"Will you let us use it sometime? No?" Gon asked Killua as we waited for his reply. Killua smiled a little, his eyes remaining the same with the same blank look.  
"If you let me use that fishing rod…Gon. And you have to let me have first go of something new that's fun, Mishka." Killua said as he turned his head back towards the exit once more, keeping the small smile on his face. I smiled widely at Killua as Gon looked at him shocked. I was just glad that he had said our names, considering all he did was look at us blankly half the time.

We finally managed to get outside. Everyone behind us was breathing heavily as if they were about to collapse. Mr Satotz seemed unaffected by the run as did Killua and Gon. I breathed heavily myself, but not enough to double over. Plus running with Gon and Killua seemed to make the time go by really quickly, and made the run seem like less hard work.

I stared out to the scenery. It looked like a swamp. There were very little green areas and most of it was covered in water or mud. It did look amazing though, even if it did look really dirty. Gon looked out amazed himself as Killua looked out with the blank expression again.  
"Wow…" Gon sighed as he turned his head to look at the swamp like scenery better, eyes wide in wonder.  
"It's the Milsy Wetlands. Also known as the "Swindlers Swamp." We must go through this in order to reach the site of Phase Two." Mr Satotz said to us me, Gon and Killua stood next to him. Everyone began calming down with their breathing at the birds above us cried into the air, flying away to wherever their destination was.  
"Many strange animals are unique to this marsh. They try to deceive people and turn them into fodder. They are very cunning and greedy creatures." Mr Satotz went on to explain to us.

I heard something moving behind us and quickly turned my head over my shoulder to see the shutter door closing down. Looking even closer, there was a guy on the ground with his arm out stretched as if trying to get the shutter to stop. He, like many others left behind in that tunnel, was an unlucky applicant. It made me kind of sad seeing as he got this far only to fail there, it was almost unfair.  
"You must follow me very carefully. If you get tricked, you die." Mr Satotz said to us, making me snap my head back to look at him. He waved his finger slightly as he spoke, as if to add emphasise to his words. I furrowed my brows slightly. I couldn't die now, not here, not now that I got so far into this first Phase. I had to pass.  
"Now that's a funny thing to say. We won't fall for their tricks if we know they're out to trick us." I heard Leorio say from behind. I turned around quickly to see him and my brother standing next to each other. Leorio had stripped down to just his suit trousers, tie and shoes while my brother had taken off his tabard. I smiled widely; glad they managed to get out; not that I shouldn't have had any doubts in the first place.  
"It's a lie! He's a fraud!" A man said making us all turn in the direction the voice was coming from.

My eyes widened as the man came out from behind the tunnel wall. He had short brown hair that was very messy, a purple scarf and green jacket. He held a brown bag with a creature inside. The creature looked like Mr Satotz, but his mouth was wide open and his eyes were rolled into the back of his head. I gasped to myself and placed my hands over my mouth, staring at the dead creature in the bag. The man holding the bag pointed at Mr Satotz with his free hand.  
"He's a fraud! He isn't the proctor! I am the real proctor!" The man shouted as he pointed to Mr Satotz. I looked back at Mr Satotz, furrowing my brows slightly as I stepped behind Gon a little bit to keep some distance between me and him, just in case he was. That creature in the bag was only confirming my thoughts that he was a fraud. Gon looked at Mr Satotz confused as Mr Satotz just stared at the man yelling.  
"A fraud? What does that mean?!" Leorio questioned from the group that stood near the exit of the tunnel.  
"Then who the hell is standing there?" The bald man who claimed was a ninja asked from beside Leorio.

I couldn't help but frown widely, this test was just becoming more and more confusion by the minute, and with the possibility of Mr Satotz being an imposter…it raised the question of have we even been going the right way?

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_Author note: Hope you enjoyed, I actually wrote the hallucination part about two days in advance. Let me know if you figured out what I tried to portray in this._


	7. Conjurer x Smile x Beast Beware

Anime lover and all silent readers! I've double spaced the paragraphs this time after thinking how I could make it easier to read without shortening the story. Let me know if this is better for you!  
**Anime lover – **Then that is a misunderstanding on my part and I apologise. The answer to the previous chapter is at the bottom.

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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All of us stared at Mr Satotz, all thinking the same, dreadful thing. Was Mr Satotz a fraud? And if he was, were we even close to the real second Phase test site? So many questions ran through my mind, it was hard to think, and hard to believe who was telling the truth and who wasn't. The only thing I could do was stand behind Gon in hopes to put some distance towards me and Mr Satotz, seeing as Gon was quite fearless against everything. Something I was envious of.  
"A fraud?!"  
"Which is the real proctor?" People questioned, staring between the man who the dead beast in the bag and Mr Satotz, who stood calmly with his hands behind his back completely unfazed by everyone's questioning.

I looked between the two myself. The man claiming to be the real proctor looked very beat up, as if that dead creature gave him a hard time. The air was filling with agitation and anger making it become very hard to breathe freely. Everyone was getting angry over the situation. It was turning into a place that I just wanted to hide from until it all went away, and yet I didn't want to go into the marsh on my own; that would be suicide.  
"Hey, mister!" Leorio called out, drawing everyone's attention away from Mr Satotz and the "real proctor". Leorio stood in front of the man claiming to be the real proctor, his fists clenched as he glared at him.  
"Do you have proof? Proof that the guy over there is a fraud!" Leorio demanded from the man as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Mr Satotz.  
"Take a look at this!" The man shouted as he tossed the bag onto the floor. Curiosity got the better of me as I took a small step out from behind Gon and inched towards the bag to see what exactly it was.

On closer inspection, it was a monkey like animal; but with the head of Mr Satotz, the only differences being that the monkey like creature's hair was brown and Mr Satotz wasn't dead. Mr Satotz also wore a very dark purple suit with black shoes and the monkey like creature was naked. The monkey like creatures fur was brown and its body was long and lanky, it looked really skinny as if it hadn't eaten for days before it died. Its mouth was wide open and its eyes were rolled into the back of its skull only showing the white. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the creature.  
"What is that?"  
"Is that a Magical Beast...?"  
"Hey…the face… It looks just like the proctor." People began saying in the crowd. I looked over my shoulder slightly to look at the crowd as they became even more fearful, agitated and angered by the entire situation. If we weren't careful, we would have a full blown mutiny on our hands and I didn't know how to deal with that.  
"Yes. That's the Man-Faced Ape that lives in the Milsy Wetlands. It disguises itself as a human and tricks people into traps… His a Man-Faced Ape too! It'll kill all you applicants to devour!" The man proclaimed as he pointed to Mr Satotz, who remained calm in the situation with his hands securely behind his back. Mr Satotz was unfazed by everything the man was saying and proclaiming.

Leorio turned around on the heels of his feet to look at the proctor in total shock, surprised by everything he was hearing. I had to admit, I was surprised too. The man who was saying was the real proctor was very knowledgeable about this Man-Faced Ape; it was becoming more and more believable that he was the proctor instead of Mr Satotz.  
"What?" Leorio questioned in surprise and shock, his mouth slightly agape.  
"Now that you mention it, he does look like it…" The man who called himself a ninja said, looking at Mr Satotz with a hateful glare in his eyes.  
"No wonder! His running ability in the underground wasn't human…" Leorio said which just made the group start walking towards Mr Satotz. I furrowed my brows and took the chance to back away, taking myself next to my brother who seemed to be one of the few that wasn't going to engage with the mutiny against Mr Satotz.

I wiggled my way through the crowd and stood next to my brother, holding onto the sleeve of his training shirt tightly as I watched everyone walk towards Mr Satotz, muttering words to themselves that were inaudible. Gon had made his way next to my brother shortly and stood next to him as well, watching what was happening with the group.  
"Is this part of the Hunter Exam, after all?" Gon asked out of the blue, taking in all the information himself. I looked at Gon with wide eyes. Gon didn't look it, but he was smart, he seemed to think of things that people didn't and in this instance it was thinking that this was maybe part of the Hunter Exam.  
"A test?" Leorio questioned Gon, turning his attention away from Mr Satotz and towards out two toned, spikey haired friend. The group seemed to calm down to think over the possibility of it all just being a test. It was becoming less hostile and angry and instead more thoughtful. It felt like I could breathe easy again; something I was thankful.

Leorio quickly made his way over to Gon and bent down to his level. He placed a hand to the side of his face, blocked people from reading his lips apart from me and my brother. Leorio still had his eyes towards the crowd though, or more specifically, Mr Satotz.  
"Gon, can't you tell? Using that wild hunch of yours…" Leorio asked Gon quietly, as if keeping Gon's "gift" a secret from everybody outside our small little circle.  
"Nope. Not at all!" Gon said honestly. Leorio dropped his hands and slumped over in defeat. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brows after hearing Gon's answer.  
"Not at all? You…" Leorio said, trailing off in his defeated words. He wasn't happy with Gon's answer that much was obvious.  
"There's no smell. If he is impersonating, he is doing extremely well." Gon said to Leorio, explaining his answer. I looked at Gon in utter amazement. If it was good enough to even fool Gon, who had the nose of a highly trained blood hound, than it must have been a really good trick.  
"Is this so…" Leorio said, trailing off in his words once more as he turned his attention back to Mr Satotz once more.

My brother began shuffling slightly. I let go of his training shirt as he began to step forward, deciding he would speak up his own theory or thoughts of the situation. My brother kept the calm composure he had kept so far with the entire group as he began his suggestion. I moved myself next to Gon, making sure I was with someone I knew at all times.  
"There is a way to find out. If he is a genuine proctor, he should have a Hunter Licence." My brother explained to the group. I thought over the words myself that did make sense. Sarah and Jerome both had Hunter Licences and they were Hunters and if that was the case then that meant the proctors, like Mr Satotz, were also Hunters. Which made even more sense considering what they were doing.  
"A Licence?" Gon asked my brother, wondering what one of those was. My brother turned his attention to Gon as he continued to stand in front to look at all the group.  
"Only a Hunter is capable of judging the aptitude of a Hunter." My brother explained to Gon. Gon thought about it for a second before deciding to press on about the matter.  
"Then does it mean…Is he a Hunter? Wow!" Gon said, looking at Mr Satotz with excitement at the prospect of him being a Hunter. I had to admit, it was a really cool thing meeting a Hunter and not even realising it, even more so that that Hunter was our proctor. It was a cool thought.

The man claiming to be the proctor didn't look fazed by everything said though, and continued on with his story about how he was the real one.  
"He stole my Hunter Licence! He took me by surprise and stole everything!" The man claiming to be the proctor shouted at the all of us, trying to get us to believe his words. I furrowed my brows slightly at the thought, what if that was true?  
"I see." My brother said simply as he looked at the man proclaiming to be the proctor. My brother had moved back between me and Gon once more, deciding to back down from where he was now that there was nothing to support his words.  
"Then having the licence doesn't prove anything." Leorio said, looking between my brother and the man proclaiming to be proctor. The air was filling with tension once more, everyone was becoming hostile once more; it was becoming hard to breathe freely once more and that's what made me feel the most uncomfortable.

Suddenly, six cards came flying out of know where. Three of them flew towards Mr Satotz and the other three flew towards the man proclaiming to be proctor. Mr Satotz caught the three thrown at him while the man claiming to be the proctor was hit in the face. He fell backwards, dead, onto the ground. All of us turned our heads to the cards original direction. There was a man shuffling cards in the air. He had blue slicked back hair and very pale skin. On his face was a red tear drop on one side, and a yellow star both painted on his cheeks. He wore a purple, short sleeved top with purple trousers. He seemed menacing, hostile, but he looked calm. No one dared to stand near him, not even Kai who gave the same hostile feeling. I couldn't help but hide behind my brother a little bit, trying my best not to get noticed by that man.  
"I see. I see…" He said calmly as he finished shuffling his cards. He held a card in between his fingers as he smirked at Mr Satotz, happy with his work.  
"What are you doing?" Leorio questioned the man in shock, wondering why he had just done what he did.  
"This way is quicker, isn't it?" The man said as he paid no mind to Leorio and instead looked at something else. That's when he threw another card in the same direction that the man proclaiming he was the proctor was.

I quickly turned my head to see the card impaling the Man-Faced Ape, who had gotten up looking very much alive, falling onto the ground dead. I furrowed my brows slightly; playing cards seemed to be really dangerous.  
"I guess this confirms that you're the real one, huh, Mr Proctor?" The man questioned Mr Satotz as he looked at him calmly. Mr Satotz remained unfazed by the man's words and hostility as he continued to speak.  
"The Hunter we're all aspiring to become must be capable of dodging a mild attack like that…" The man said to Mr Satotz. A lump formed in my throat hearing those words. If that was mild, I dreaded to think what was strong; those cards impaled both the man and the Man-Faced Ape something normal playing cards didn't usually do even when thrown hard.  
"I'll take that as a compliment. But from next time, any violence directed at the proctor under any circumstances will be deemed as a rebellious act and you will be disqualified immediately. Do I make myself clear?" Mr Satotz questioned the man with the card, keeping his own calm attitude despite what the man was giving off. The man with the cards remained unfazed himself as he continued to stare at Mr Satotz.  
"I know. I know." He said to Mr Satotz and then took himself off somewhere else, probably to retrieve his deadly playing cards.

I heard footsteps and turned my head slightly to see Killua walk up to me and Gon. He had literally appeared from nowhere since me and Gon took ourselves next to my brother. Killua kept the same small smile with blank eyes he held as he stopped behind me and Gon slightly.  
"It stinks…" Killua said suddenly to me and Gon. Gon, who didn't realise that Killua was suddenly there from literally the shadows, looked at him surprised from his sudden appearance. I too was shocked, Killua was quiet almost too quiet for my liking in his movement. It was unnerving.  
"A Hunter would never be deceived by the likes of a Man-Faced Ape. I knew he was a fraud when he said his Hunter Licence was stolen…" My brother said turning his head towards the man with cards moulded into his face. I furrowed by brows slightly, it was gruesome. The cuts were clean, there was no blood. It made me wonder what was scarier, the fact that that magician could do that with cards or the fact that he had the ability to make murder look easy.

I turned my attention back to the magician. He was standing in front of a guy with pins in his head. Next to him was Kai, although he didn't look too interested in their conversation, only speaking words here and there when it looked appropriate…he looked preoccupied with something else but what I couldn't tell.  
"Still, that man named Hisoka attacked even the proctor…" My brother said making me shudder slightly. It was a rather gruelling thought. I turned my attention away when Kai noticed I was staring at him, looking over to where the Man-Faced Ape laid on the floor, cards implanted into his back. Gon was staring himself; but why I didn't know.  
"Hey, how long are you going to stare at it?" Killua questioned Gon, who only hummed in response. I furrowed my brows slightly, a death was a death and any death was a sad one no matter what or who it was.

I heard footsteps and stepped back slightly to allow Mr Satotz to walk through the crowd. I stayed close to my brother, deciding I was going to run with him all the time we were at this swamp…that seemed like the safest course of action.  
"You do not need to feel sad about it. Risky entrapments like this are an ordinary part of life for them." Mr Satotz explained quite calmly to us. I heard squawking and saw Vultures fall from the sky, landing on or next to the corpse as they began picking at it. I had to turn my head away; it was a sight I would rather not see.  
"The survival of the fittest… That is the rule of this marsh. Anyway, shall we leave for the site of Phase Two?" Mr Satotz said to us, promptly changing the subject to a more upbeat one. I looked at him with determination, ready to run the last bit to get to Phase Two. I came this far, I could carry one! At least, that's what I told myself I could do.

With that we were off once more! We ran through the marsh. The mud squelched underneath my feet, making a sickly sound that made my skin crawl and the hair on my arms stand up on end. What made it worse was the consent thought of it getting into my shoes; that was what made my skin really crawl. Mr Satotz took the lead as usual and did his fast walking that made the rest of us run. I couldn't see Gon or Killua anywhere in front of us and hoped they hadn't fallen behind.  
"Here we go with the marathon again!" Leorio complained from next to my brother. I couldn't help but smile at him slightly, running obviously wasn't his forte. Mud from my brothers' shoe splashed up into Leorio's face making me quickly turn my head forward as he looked at my brother angrily.  
"Damn! Watch it!" Leorio shouted at my brother as we continued running forward. My brother however stayed quiet; he looked deep in thought about something. What I had noticed was that this mud was making it very difficult to run and I was getting more tired and hot than I was back in the tunnel filled with people. I quickly took my bag strap from off my shoulder and pulled off my dress tabard. Dropping my bag back onto my shoulder I opened it up and stuffed my dress tabard inside, I didn't want to lose it as it was the only one I had. With any luck, I would be cooler this way.

Our running continued, for how long I didn't know. How long until we got to the Second Phase was an even bigger mystery. As we ran it got foggier, making it harder to see anything.  
"Kurapika! Leorio! Mishka! Killua said we better move to the top!" Gon shouted through the crowd and fog. I smiled widely, happy that he and Killua weren't left behind as it sounded like he was shouting from in front of us.  
"Stupid! I would've gone a long time ago if I could!" Leorio shouted back at Gon angrily, as if expecting him to know that.  
"But you have to do it somehow." Gon shouted back at Leorio even louder than before.  
"Well I can't!" Leorio shouted back at Gon. I continued to smile widely to myself before deciding it was best to reply; even if I was turning down Gon's suggesting of moving up front. It was just safer next to my brother at the moment.  
"I'm going to run with big brother and Leorio this time! We'll catch up okay?" I shouted back over to them, sounding cheerful in my shouting as to not cause Gon to worry.  
"Okay!" Gon shouted back, ending out conversation of shouts. I couldn't help but keep the wide smile on my face, I was just glad that him and Killua were okay; I didn't want to be the only kid in the exam and meeting two others made me extremely happy…maybe I could make friends with them.

As we ran for a while longer the fog got heavier. The smile on my face long since vanished. I looked around me as we continued running forward, not even sure if it was the right direction anymore.  
"The fog has gotten so dense…" My brother muttered to himself, keeping his eyes focused on the front just trying to see the bodies in front of us. I squinted my eyes; no matter how much I tried I just couldn't see them. They were vanishing quickly. I frowned widely, pressing my lips firmly together. This wasn't good.  
"Damn! As it is, I could lose sight of the person in front of me!" Leorio commented himself as I kept quiet and continued to stare at the front.  
"What happens if we lose the proctor?" I questioned the two quietly, keeping the words between us three. I didn't receive an answer, and I wasn't expecting too for the answer would probably be that we had to go home as we would have failed the Phase. I didn't want to fail the Phase.

I looked to my left slightly. Mr Hisoka, the man who was dressed as a magician, looked like he was jogging. But he also felt dangerous, a murderous kind of dangerous. It was frightening. I couldn't help but stick closely to my brother but not so much that I tripped him up. I perked my head up when I heard heavy breathing and wheezing. Turning my head to Leorio I saw that he was running with his mouth wide open trying to take in as much air as possible. He was also the one who was wheezing. I sighed slightly; he really wouldn't have been able to run up to the front even if he tried.

The sound of squeaking soon filled my senses. I turned my head forward once more to see black creatures fluttering over to us. The squeaking got louder as they got closer. They sounded like bats, but they certainly didn't look like bats.  
"H-How annoying!" Leorio complained as he covered his face. I saw my brother do the same and decided to copy, wondering if that was the best thing to do. I quickly shoved my right arm over my mouth and nose to block the creatures from hitting them.  
"Don't touch it! This moth is…!" My brother began saying until the sound of someone collapsing into the mud filled my senses over the moth's squeaks. My eyes widened, did that moth kill that man…all because he touched it? That was troubling and frightening.

We continued to run forward. The scenery began changing from foggy and muddy to foggy, muddy and forest like. It was rather annoying as having it foggy and muddy clearly wasn't enough for this marsh. I removed my arm from in front of my mouth and nose, letting it swing backwards and forwards once more as I ran. My eyes widened once more at what was in front of us. Everyone looked crystalized, encased in a shell that would make them immortal forever; but not able to move, breath or eat.  
"What the hell is that?!" Leorio questioned, looking at the crystal cocoons himself. I didn't want to meet the creature that made that possible.  
"H-Hey, look!"  
"We're saved. Help has arrived!" The guys in front of us cheered as they sped up. I looked closely and saw bright, green lights shining through the trees and bushes. They shone in different areas and as pretty as it looked it was probably quite dangerous.

My brother stopped running and quickly placed a hand in front of me making me run into it. I was glad in way, I had gained so much speed I probably would have tripped if I tried stopping as suddenly as he did. Leorio stopped behind my brother as he quickly placed his hands in front of him and called out to the men who carried on.  
"Hey, wait!" He shouted. His words fell on deaf ears though as the men continued running towards the bright green lights. As the men got closer, bright red lights starting shining through. I looked at them questionably as they began growling and glowing even brighter. Soon, the men in front of us screamed loudly filling the air with fright. The creature quickly launched his head forward and grabbed the man with his mouth. It stepped out of the fog making it clearer to see it. It looked like a giant turtle.

The turtles began doing the same to the others that stood in fear and shock to just stare at them. The rest of us decided to was better to run away, not wanting to get eaten. However, even I, my brother and Leorio stopped as another group got eaten by a ginormous frog lifting from the ground. I stepped behind my brother, keeping my back close to him as I looked behind us to make sure nothing sneaked up. Although I was scared and shook, I didn't want to die.  
"I guess those of us at the rear have become totally separated." My brother said calmly, making me swallow the lump in my throat hard. That was one thing I didn't want to hear.  
"How can you say that as if it's none of our business!" Leorio questioned my brother in poor shock. I felt a hand on my arm and jumped slightly before looking to see who it belonged it. I relieved it to see it was my brother; although I was still scared and continued to shake on the spot, just not as wildly as before. As the men ran away trying to find the group in a frantic search of safety, explosions filled the air. I quickly turned around, staying behind my brother just in time to see bodies fly into the air. I watched in horror as they flew in the air before landing on the ground with a thud. They didn't move once they hit the ground.  
"My goodness!" My brother breathed as he, Leorio and I watched the carnage. We were lost, there was no mistaken that; but we were lost in a foggy, muddy forest, surrounded by things that could kill you in a single touch. That's what was made being lost terrifying.

As if things couldn't get worse cards began flying towards us at speed. My brother quickly withdrew his Bokken swords and stepped in front of me as I ducked down with my eyes closed and hands on my head trying to protect it.  
"Aw, ouch!" I heard Leorio shout. A card probably landed into him somewhere, but luckily not deadly. The men behind us however dropped to the floor in a thump, their last breath exiting their mouths. Chuckling sounded through the fog, accompanied by footsteps. I slowly stood up but stayed behind my brother as I peeked from behind him. The person who came into view was the creepy, murdering magician. Mr Hisoka.

He walked towards us calmly, chuckling as if he was doing nothing wrong. Or maybe he did know he was doing something wrong and just found it amusing. I tried looking around behind him or next to him; he wasn't being followed by Kai this time. That was actually unnerving.  
"Damn you! Why did you do that?!" Leorio shouted at Mr Hisoka as my brother kept a defensive stand with his Bokken swords.  
"I'm pretending to be the proctor. I thought I would remain quiet until Phase Two, but I got too bored…" Mr Hisoka said as he began shuffling cards skilfully. He stopped in front of us and pulled out a card from the shuffled deck, looking through it and at the group instead.  
"I thought I'd help out the Exam Committee. I will judge if you are eligible to be a Hunter or not." Hisoka said, looking at us all from the corner of his eyes. They looked deadly, as if they wanted to kill.

I shivered at the thought, he was disqualified last year for killing a proctor because he didn't like them; nothing would stop him from killing us applicants.  
"Judge?! You stupid bastard. Look at this fog. Once you are separated from the others, it will be impossible to find the proctor who is running at the top! In other words, you've also failed… just like us-!" A man wearing a blue shirt and jacket began shouting, pointing his finger at Mr Hisoka. He had brown hair and a very confident grin on his face that was until however a swift light came from his throat with Mr Hisoka standing in front of him.  
"How rude of you. Don't put me with you." Mr Hisoka said to him slickly. The man wearing blue fell to the floor, and like the Man-Faced Ape there was no blood from his wound. I grabbed onto the back of my brothers training clothes tightly as I stayed closely behind him. Mr Hisoka was fast, and terrifying. He was a skilled fighter.  
"I'll tell you one thing as a farewell gift for your journey to hell. Nothing is impossible for a magician." Mr Hisoka spoke slickly and calmly once more. I flinched every time he moved, fearing that he would come over to us next.

Soon the group of men that we were with began surrounding the terrible, killer magician. I stayed behind my brother as Leorio stood next to watch, just watching the scene unfold before us.  
"Don't make me laugh! You have no right to become a Hunter!" One man shouted, holding a metal rod in his hands. Mr Hisoka however just looked at him as if he wasn't even there or posed a threat against him.  
"I'll teach you a lesson, so you'll never be fit to take the Exam again!" Another man in a pink shirt yelled, holding what looked like a club with a baseball cap on top of his head. He looked like an everyday thug. Mr Hisoka however seemed unfazed by everything. I peeked up to my brother to see him holding his Bokken swords in a defensive pose. I hesitated and brought my hands to my bag getting ready to pull out my own weapons in needed; even if I didn't stand much of a chance against the homicidal magician.  
"Let me see. I say one card…will take care of you all together." Mr Hisoka said, holding up a card in his hand. The group started running at him, angry and bitter about Mr Hisoka's words.  
"Don't be sure!" One of them yelled as they ran at the magician. Even though there were a lot of them, I could tell they didn't stand a chance. They were going to die, just like that man before them and there wouldn't be a single trace of how it was done.

Mr Hisoka jumped into the air and held his card to his left, getting ready to throw it at the group. His free hand was clenched into a fist as he smiled fox like at the entire group of men running at him.  
"Ladies and gentlemen. Hisoka the great magician of the century shall start the miracle magic show. Please enjoy it!" Mr Hisoka said, as if there was an audience to watch him perform his cruel show. When he landed on the floor he quickly swung his arm around him, twisting and turning as if dancing to an invisible beat with the men one by one falling before him in a crumbled heap on the floor. They were dead. I couldn't help but gasp as I heard my brother and Leorio do the same. The remaining men who were alive decided it was best to turn and run away. They too though were struck down by the magician who was just laughing manically, enjoying his own little show.

There were only four of us left. Me, my brother, Leorio and a guy wearing a purple beanie. His hair stuck out in all directions from under the hem of his beanie. We were the only ones left with Mr Hisoka, who had ripped out an entire group of men with just a single card.  
"They all fail. Only the four of you remain." Mr Hisoka said as he turned around the face us probably. I could hear my breathing as he stared over at us.  
"Step out from behind your brother I can see you." Mr Hisoka said, making me jump at his words, startling me that he knew me and my brother were related when we had never spoken to the man. I hesitantly moved from the safety of my brothers back and stood between him and Leorio, looking at Mr Hisoka with a wide frown with worry and fear written all over my face.  
"Damn you…" Leorio cursed slightly to himself as he held his arm having been previously cut by Mr Hisoka's card. Mr Hisoka however continued to smirk and looked at Leorio with his fox like eyes and grin.  
"Shall I start…with you?" Mr Hisoka said, his eyes widening slightly as well as his grin. Leorio gasped slightly to himself. He gritted his teeth together hard and his eyes went wide in shock after Mr Hisoka's words.

Mr Hisoka started walking towards us with his sly look. My muscles stiffened in fear, I hadn't felt this scared for a long time, so scared that my life would end at any given moment. The air was thick with death and suspense and it was all caused by this one homicidal magician.  
"When I give you a cue, disperse in different directions." The boy with the purple beanie said to us. All of us looked at him from the corner of our eyes, wondering what he could mean and wondering how that would help us.  
"He's strong. Every killer has a moment of hesitation when he is about to kill a person. But he has none of that!" The boy with the purple beanie said. I looked back over to Mr Hisoka to see him still walking towards us slowly, the sly fox like grin on his face. I had to get my muscles to relax if I wanted to run like the one in the beanie said.  
"Certainly, we have no chance of winning against him even if we attack simultaneously…" My brother explained to us, making the situation that much more worse. I furrowed my brows slightly at the thought, he did have a point; we wouldn't win. Not against Mr Hisoka.  
"How would you know without trying?!" Leorio yelled quietly at my brother, glaring into the side of his face. I looked up to Leorio; my brows furrowed with a wide frown on my face and shook my head quickly.  
"I don't want to try anything with Mr Hisoka." I said to Leorio as quietly as I could muster.  
"I suppose you, too, have a strong motivation to become a Hunter. I know you're not gonna like it, but this time you'd better run." The boy with the purple hat said to us. As soon as Mr Hisoka inched that little bit closer, the four of us took off in different directions, getting away from the homicidal magician in hopes to live for the rest of the exam.

I ran and continued running. Mr Hisoka was saying something, but I was far too busy running away from him to concentrate on anything coming from his mouth. To where I was running I didn't know, but I knew I just had to continue to keep away from the mad magician Mr Hisoka. I heard a scream and turned my head around over my shoulder, my eyes wide in fear at who was shouting. It was Leorio, he was the only one mad enough to even go up against someone like Mr Hisoka without a second thought; but what did he have to prove?

It wasn't long however until I ran into another person. I wasn't looking where I was going, so it was my fault, but it was also confusing as to why there was another person here in the middle of the forest like marsh. I fell backwards onto the damp grass and soggy mud.  
"Hisoka said there would be stragglers but I never thought one of those would be a kid." A voice said to me in a low and cold tone. My veins felt cold as I brought my eyes up to meet the person. It was Kai, the boy who was hanging around the homicidal magician. I staggered up as quickly as I could, keeping my eyes on the familiar face. I began slowly bringing up hands to my bag, backing away from the boy until he threw something; missing my face by a mere few inches. I froze on the spot, teeth clenched tightly together with my eyes wide in fear and shock.  
"Don't even think about it. If you don't move I can end this quickly, Hisoka will never know. So stay calm and don't move." Kai said to me, his voice still as cold as before. He brought his arm back after holding it out in front of him. Whatever he threw at me came back to his hand quickly. Taking a squinted look, I saw it was a dagger.

A lump in my throat formed, I didn't know if I should try to run or not. Kai kept coming closer and closer and with no where I could really run to without being struck by his weapon, I was cornered. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I continued to watch him, muscles twitching as if telling me to back away from him.  
"Don't you have anything better to do then pick on kids?" A woman's voice sounded from behind me. Kai stopped walking and looked right over the top of my head as I stayed glued to the spot. I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder, making me jump at the cold touch.  
"I suggest you leave the kid alone, we wouldn't want accidents now would we?" The woman said from behind me, her hand on her shoulder just getting a little bit tighter as she stood behind me. Kai scowled at the woman, opening his mouth to say something until his name rang through the forest. It sounded like Mr Hisoka was calling him, although it sounded mocking. Kai gritted his teeth together tightly, glaring in all directions before turning around to head back to the magician. He didn't say anything, he left it quiet and just walked away, as if he wasn't planning anything.

I felt myself calm down a little bit but not that much. I heard the woman sigh behind me, her hand on my shoulder loosening up before eventually dropping off, her fingers just lightly grazing my back.  
"He still has so many problems…Enough about that though, let's get back with the group." The woman said, making me jump once more. I stumbled forward and turned around on the balls of my feet, looking up at the woman. She wore a red beanie hat with a red tank top and green combat trousers with black and white trainers. She was a lot taller than me and very slim; her skin was tanned showing she spent most of her time outside.

The woman smiled gently at me as she held up her hands showing she had no weapon.  
"Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you. I think we should get back to the group though otherwise we won't be heading to the second exam." She said with a small chuckle in her voice. She looked in the direction Kai ran off and then looked back at me, pointing towards it with the smile still on her face.  
"I think our best bet is to go the direction Kai went in, don't you?" She asked me, keeping the small smile on her face. I stayed quiet and kept my distance, wondering how she knew Kai and why she even helped me in the first place. The woman began walking in the direction Kai left, leaving me glued to the spot in my own thoughts.  
"Well, are you coming?" She asked me, her voice getting further and further away. I felt a lump in my throat again and quickly turned around to follow her; there wasn't any other good choices, and this woman seemed nice enough…I didn't have much to lose.

The woman and I ran through the forest and swamp. I could feel the mud up the back of my clothes starting to dry on it from falling over earlier. I stared at the woman's back as I followed her, hoping she was leading me towards the group. It was quiet between us, but it wasn't awkward…I couldn't place my finger on what type of quiet it was, unsettling perhaps was the right word. I thought through various questions in my head as I stared at her back, before deciding to break our unsettling silence.  
"Hey miss…how do you know Kai?" I asked her curiously as I looked at her questionably. The woman turned her head towards me slightly before looking forward once more. She stayed quiet at first, as if trying to think of an answer.  
"We…used to be very close friends. I lost contact with him a few years ago because of various reasons and only recently decided to look for him and another friend again…I didn't think he would be trying to become a Hunter." The woman said to me. It sounded honest and sincere; I couldn't pick up anything that might have meant she was lying. I nodded my head slightly, accepting her answer. I thought over a few more questions in my head, looking down at the ground we ran through.

My legs started getting heavy as we began running up a hill. I could see footsteps becoming visible showing that people had ran through recently. With any luck, we were in the right direction. This woman seemed very sure at the least. I looked at the woman's back once more, keeping my eyes directly on her back as we continued our laboured run.  
"What's your name miss? I'm Mishka." I said to her, introducing myself. I didn't want to keep calling her just miss. The woman turned her head around once more over her shoulder, a wide toothy grin on her face.  
"I'm Chi. Just call me Chi." She said to me, making me nod my head at her in understanding. She looked forward once more and sped up a little bit.  
"We're nearly to the group, I can see them. We're going to make it." She said to me excitedly as we pushed ourselves up the final stretch of the hill.

The two of us reached the top muddy hill. The fog wasn't up here. I looked behind me as I breathed heavily, it seemed like the fog cleared earlier and I didn't notice. We continued to run, now only running in a very dark, overgrown forest. I could see light however I couldn't help but smile widely and speed up a bit with Chi. The quicker we ran the quicker the light came to us until finally we were out of the dark overgrown forest and with the rest of the group. I began slowing down to a walk as we reached the group. Everyone was breathing heavily or coughing, trying to catch their breaths. They were too exhausted to talk.

I turned my attention back to Chi, who had disappeared somewhere. I frowned widely, I wanted to say thank you; but she had vanished before I even had that chance.  
"Mishka!" I heard a familiar voice shout and tuned my attention to it. I smiled widely when I saw it was Killua, but couldn't help but drop the smile when I noticed Gon wasn't with him. As Killua got closer I looked at him questionably.  
"You actually made it; I didn't think you would being behind and all." Killua said, sounding mildly amused and impressed. I hummed slightly to myself at his words and continued to look at him questionably, glad he was here, but confused as to where Gon was.  
"How come Gon is not with you? Weren't you to running together?" I asked him curiously. Killua looked slightly annoyed at the question and shoved his hands into his shorts pockets, as if trying to dismiss the idea of where Gon was.  
"He went back after Leorio. I don't know what happened to him." Killua said, shrugging his shoulders slightly. I frowned widely and nodded my head. I could only guess that he was killed back there, but what about my brother and Leorio? If Gon was with Leorio then he was probably dead too…so what about my brother?

I looked around for the boy with the beanie; I managed to spot him standing off to himself among the crowd. He managed to escape Mr Hisoka. So where was my brother?  
"The Second Phase is starting soon, we better go near the front." Killua said, sounding disappointed himself with the lack of a certain spikey haired boy, jogging me out of my thoughts. I looked at him slightly, and sighed deeply to myself, nodding my head only a little. I just had to hope that my brother would make it soon or was somewhere in the crowd. Although, I couldn't blame him. I had only known Gon for a short time and so far I really liked his company and I really wanted to be his friend. It was odd not seeing him here with the rest of us. It was even odder not seeing my brother with the rest of us.

We began walking towards the front of the group. Rumbling emerged from behind a giant door with a clock over it. It was a big building, it looked quite old and dirty. I couldn't help but wonder what was behind that door. A giant animal maybe? It was too loud to be a person I knew that much. I stared at the door as me and Killua stopped walking, looking at the giant brown doors questionably. I looked to my side to see Killua walking back to the exit of the forest, standing just a few meters away from it, as if waiting to see if Gon would turn up. Much like a puppy waiting for its mother. I followed on behind him; maybe my brother and Gon would show up at the last moment. The two of us watched quietly into the darkness of the forest until we heard footsteps getting closer and closer. I smiled widely to see my brother and Gon becoming visible from the darkness.  
"Gon." I heard Killua mutter to himself in joy as I nodded my head, happy to see him and my big brother. I was about to run over to the two until I heard a gunshot. I turned my head in the direction it was coming from. Mr Satotz was holding a gun in the air until he brought his hand down.  
"It's over! Well done, everyone. Here, the Visca Forest Reserve, will be the site for Phase Two!" Mr Satotz said to us all.

I couldn't care what he said at the moment though, I was just glad that my brother and Gon was here to take Phase Two. I turned my attention back to them. My brother was rubbing his face, looking very worn out from the running as Gon looked a little confused. I quickly broke away from Killua's side and bounced up to the two, happy to see them both. I smiled widely at them both.  
"You guys made it!" I said to them happily. My brother looked down to me as Gon looked around as if looking for someone. My brother sighed in relief and smiled a little back at me, nodding his head.  
"How did you get here?" He asked me, raising an eyebrow in question. I continued to hold the wide smile on my face as I answered his question.  
"I was helped by a lady called Chi." I said to him happily, just glad to see him. My brother nodded his head, accepting my answer; although he didn't look too convinced to do so. Sadly, without knowing where Chi was I couldn't point her out to him.

I turned my attention to Gon and saw him walk towards a tree, that had Leorio leaned against it. I looked at him confused; I didn't even notice him there. I decided to follow, as Leorio looked a little bit beaten up on his face. It was red and swollen on his cheek, as if someone punched him very hard. My brother followed next to me and Gon as we stopped in front of Leorio.  
"Leorio!" Gon said loudly in front of the shirtless tall man who was slumped over with his eyes closed and glasses missing. Leorio shifted slightly, as if he was just waking up and looked at Gon with only one eye open. Seeing his cheek up close I could see that it was stopping him from opening both eyes.  
"What happened?" He questioned us. I looked at him confused, all I knew was that we ran away from Mr Hisoka and it sounded like that Leorio went back for him. Did that mean Mr Hisoka punched Leorio in the face?

My brother walked forward and bent down to Leorio's level to get a better look at him, examining the wound on his arm and his face.  
"Umm…expect the wound on his arm, he seems all right." My brother said, seeming to ignore the lumpy bruise on Leorio's face.  
"Ouch! Hey, check my face!" Leorio complained, pointing to his face. My brother looked up slightly, humming to himself as Leorio moved his hand a little for my brother to get a better look at his swollen cheek. My brother looked at him seriously as he thought to himself.  
"You look the same as usual." My brother said with a serious look and tone in his voice. I sighed slightly to myself. Big brother always said "always be polite", but he couldn't bring himself to be polite around some people himself.  
"What looks the same?! Damn. What is going on?!" Leorio shouted in confusion and frustration as he tried to make sense of everything. My brother stood up straight and backed away from him. I watched my brother as he turned his head to me slightly and placed a finger on his lips, silently telling me to keep quiet about Leorio's face. I nodded my head a little bit and turned my attention back to Leorio, who looked even more frustration.  
"Don't you remember?" Gon asked him as Leorio placed a hand onto his swollen cheek.  
"Don't be rude to me! I do remember stepping into the marsh, and…" Leorio said, looking away from us as he tried to recall what exactly happened. My brother turned to me and Gon as we looked up to him. My brother placed a hand to the side of his face, keeping his mouth obscured from Leorio's sight.  
"I guess we'd better not tell him." My brother said to us. Me and Gon nodded our heads agreeing that that was probably for the best.

Once Leorio was up, the four of us walked back to Mr Satotz as the whole group was beginning to stand in front of him. It looked like her was about to make an announcement. He stood in front of the giant wooden doors with the clock above it, the same doors that hid whatever was making those awful noises. Me and Gon quickly stood together. I smiled widely at Killua, receiving a small one back. Gon didn't seem to notice Killua standing next to him. Mr Satotz stood before the whole group with his hands behind his back. I smiled widely at Killua before turning my attention back to Mr Satotz.  
"Anyway, let me officially congratulate you. All of you who are present have passed Phase One. I wish you all luck on Phase Two." He said to us, dropping his hands from his back and walking away from us to let us stare at the giant wooden doors.

I couldn't help but continue to wonder what could be behind those doors. I could only think that it was a giant animal, like a giant dog or cat or maybe even a wolf or lion! Probably not a Fox bear as no one could tame those…but these people were Hunters so it might have been possible.  
"I'm so glad!" Gon said as I nodded my head agreeing with him.  
"You did it." Killua said smiling at Gon slightly. Gon looked at Killua, surprised to see him next to him. He smiled widely either way, glad to see the white haired boy with the skateboard.  
"Killua!" Gon said surprised to him. Killua's small smile turned into a rather odd smirk like grin as he continued to stare at Gon.  
"What kind of magic did you use? I thought you would never make it." Killua said to him. That's when Gon began explaining his story to both of us, as I was a little bit concerned on how he got here to. When he told us, I looked at him shocked and surprised, with a small mixture of confusion.  
"What? You followed Leorio's scent?" Killua questioned, trying to get his head around it. Gon nodded his head, not finding it strange. I couldn't help but giggle slightly; he really was like a dog.  
"You really are very different. Frankly speaking, you're a dog, aren't you?" Killua asked him point blank. I looked at Killua wide eyed, wondering how he could ask a question like that. More so, you don't really ask people if they're a dog or not! Gon however just rubbed the back of his head and smiled widely at the white haired boy.  
"You think?" He asked him, not seeming to be offended by Killua's point blank question.

After Killua's very strange and slightly rude question the three of us stared at the doors and building, waiting for it to open as the rumbling continued. My brother wondered up next to me with Leorio next to him as we watched with excitement for the doors to open. My brother had pulled his tabard back on and Leorio had decided to wear his shirt again, just no tie.  
"It's about time." Gon said, excitement laced in his voice. I could feel butterflies in my stomach as we waited for the doors to open or a bell to ring, indicating it was Phase Two. I never thought I would feel this excited for an exam.  
"I'm getting nervous." My brother said as I nodded my head in agreement.  
"Yeah. We don't know what to expect. There's no telling when we may be attacked…" Leorio said, trailing off in his sentence. I looked at Leorio with wide eyes, we were going to be attacked?! I turned my attention back to the giant doors, waiting to see what would come out and attack us so suddenly. The butterflies in my stomach only became more evident as the clock started ringing once the hand struck twelve.

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_Author Note: I tried doing it as different stages of grief. Denial. Bandages around the eyes. Anger. Going to draw a weapon. Bargaining. Wondering if things were different if she did this and that. Depression. Asking what she should do. Acceptance. The final goodbye to her loved ones and seeing them with their eyes._


	8. Menchi x Furious x Second Phase?

Anime lover and all silent readers! Check out my profile for a coloured version of Chi (head shot only.) I apologise for the lack of double spacing. It was my understanding with Fanfiction that if I left the spacing alone between paragraphs it'll go double; but that doesn't seem to be the case. I apologise for the false information and will aim to get this fixed soon.  
**Anime lover – **Yeah, I thought I'd make some differences, considering there is a lot of difference between the two versions. But no I didn't notice the birthday thing, so I learnt something new!

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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As the bell struck at noon the giant double doors started opening slowly. The doors creaked loudly as they slowly opened, fading into the dark building that stood before us. Although I couldn't tell if it was the doors creaking, or whatever that growling stomach belonged to. It could have been either one. As the light shone into the room it revealed two people.

One of the people sat on a brown couch. She had pale looking skin. Her pink hair was tied into five individual, strapped up, pony tails. She wore a fish net top that looked much too small to cover her entire body, unless that was the look she was going for, with just a black bra on underneath. Her jean shorts just about covered her bottom. She wore high heeled boots that were a darkish red in colour, secured by purple-pink bows and ended at her knee. If I walked around like that my brother would ground me for days, maybe months or even years.

Behind her sat a very, very large man. He was round in shape and had a huge belly. Getting a better look at him that was probably the belly making all that hungry sounding noises. His face was round with scraggy looking brunette hair sitting on the top, just covering his forehead. His shirt was a greenish blue colour. It wasn't long enough to cover his ginormous belly. His trousers stopped near his ankles and were a dark brown in colour. He didn't wear shoes, but then again he was a huge man; shoes probably didn't come in his size.

I couldn't help but stare at the mismatched pair. Were they are Second Phase Examiners? And if so what were we going to be tested on? The woman on the chair smiled at us as she sat lazily in it, looking quite comfortable and unwilling to move from her spot.  
"Thank you for waiting. How is it? Buhara, are you getting hungry now?" The woman sitting on the couch asked her very large friend, looking up to him. I stood in shock. Now? Now?! Was he getting hungry, now?! He sounded hungry since we had been waiting here a while ago, how could he be hungry now?! The large man's, who the woman called Buhara, stomach growled in response before he began speaking to her.  
"As you can hear, I'm starving, Menchi." Mr Buhara responded to her, sounding quite upset about the situation. I frowned widely, was he going to eat us? Did we have to see if we could outrun the two in order to pass the second phase? Were they cannibals?!

Thoughts ran through my mind on what they possible could be as I looked at them in panic, fidgeting on my feet, shifting my weight from one foot to another as I ran through the scenarios in my mind.  
"We, the Gourmet Hunters, are in charge of evaluating Second Phase." The woman, who Mr Buhara had called Menchi, said to us. Those words calmed my panic. I took a deep breath and exhaled in relief. So they weren't cannibals, they were Gourmet Hunters. I was confused though, what's a Gourmet Hunter?  
"Gourmet Hunters?" Leorio questioned my thoughts.  
"What is that?" Gon asked, also voicing my own thoughts. I looked up at my brother, wondering if he knew the answer to the questions asked.  
"A Gourmet Hunter searches for all kinds of foods throughout the world to create new cuisine. Of course, Hunters themselves are excellent cooks as well." My brother explained to us. So they were basically chefs that risked their lives to hunt for new foods that might be tasty? That was an extreme type of chef.

I thought over my brothers words though. He said Hunters were excellent cooks. I could just about make toast, and even then half the time I burned it or burnt myself. I heard someone hum to themselves and looked to my side to see the guy who proclaimed himself to be a ninja place a hand onto his chin in thought.  
"That means the subject will be…" He said, trailing off in his thoughts as Miss Menchi finished off his sentence for him, unmoving from her perch on the couch.  
"Right! The subject for Phase two is…cooking." She said, pausing dramatically.  
"Cooking!?" We all questioned after her. Why would cooking be a phase? Did that mean if we couldn't cook well we would fail? I couldn't cook well…I might be leaving for Sarah's earlier than I thought.

Muttering through the group filled the air as we all tried to get the idea into our heads. I ran through all the things I could make that wouldn't involve an oven, or a toaster, or a pan, or anything else that would actually cook food. I could make salad and a sandwich. Would that count?  
"Cripes! Why the hell do I have to cook after reaching this far?!" The big guy with the pony tail questioned. I couldn't remember what Mr Tonpa said his name was, but I did remember that he was a wrestler.  
"You over there! If you want to complain, go home." Miss Menchi said to the wrestler, immediately making him go quiet. Miss Menchi looked at all of us with a rather annoyed expression as she leaned forward on her couch, but not moving to get off of it.  
"Anyone else who has objections to the test can go home immediately." Miss Menchi said to us, looking over us all. I pressed my lips tightly together not daring to make even so much of a grumble. The group however seemed to have other ideas and kept grumbling and moaning about the suggestion, but not enough to actually make a complaint about the Second Phase.  
"It seems no one has any objections." Miss Menchi said, almost sounding relived about the quietness. I guess she didn't want to hassle of throwing everyone off the grounds of the Second Phase.

We stayed quiet as the man who thought of himself to be a ninja began speaking once more, deciding to ask Miss Menchi a question.  
"Anyway, what kind of food do we have to cook?" the ninja man asked. Mr Buhara's face lit up with excited about the question, a wide grin covering his massive round face.  
"First, you must cook a dish that I order." Mr Buhara said to us happily. Miss Menchi smiled after her companions words as she looked at us all, the scowl on her face leaving no evidence that it was even there.  
"And only those of you who pass will be allowed to cook what I order next. In short, if both of us say the dish is "delicious", you pass Phase Two." Miss Menchi said to us. I furrowed my brows that meant we had to please two people if we wanted to pass. Mr Buhara would probably be the hardest guy, he was huge, he probably only ate the most delicious dishes to get to that size! I fidgeted once more as the wrestler began complaining once more.  
"That's not fair! Whether it's tasty or not depends on the person!" The wrestler complained, which only made more people join in to his angry debating.  
"If food that's delicious to us doesn't suit your taste, we fail, won't we?!" Another person complained, which just made all everyone else start shouting complaints at Miss Menchi and Mr Buhara.

I looked behind me to see them all complaining about food being tasty to us but not to the examiners. All the talking of food just made me hungry. I looked forward and sighed to myself, closing my eyes as I furrowed my brows. Everybody was getting angrier and angrier; this seemed to be the world's most angry group. Miss Menchi stood up with her eyes closed and began clapping her hands. She had finally left her perch on her couch.  
"Hey, hey, hey, hey." Miss Menchi repeated. The group of muttering, angry men started to quiet down before eventually becoming fully quiet. Miss Menchi placed her hands onto her hips as she began speaking to us once more.  
"Look. As I said a minute ago, if you don't want to take the test, you're free to go home. Go on, good-bye." Miss Menchi said, waving her hand to the side as if brushing off everybody that didn't agree with the Second Phase. I heard the air being swung and turned my head towards Leorio. He bent over slightly with his hand clenched into a fist and a glare on his face.  
"No kidding! How can I go back after coming this far!" Leorio shouted, which just got everybody riled up once more. A man walked over to the wrestler and grabbed him by the front of the shirt once everybody began shouting and agreeing with Leorio.  
"You made a fuse about it and now you've made matters more complicated!" The man yelled at the wrestler, lifting him up slightly by the front of his shirt. Everybody was getting angry over something that seemed like it could have been avoided.  
"How annoying. If you're going to complain, seriously, go home!" The ninja said, joining in with the commotion. I furrowed my brows and sighed to myself. This second Phase was going so smoothly right now, as smooth as a pot hole filled road.

I looked at Gon and Killua, who both seemed to not be taking notice of the commotion around them. I decided to take their lead and look back at Miss Menchi and Mr Buhara. I removed the worried expression from my face and looked at them with a small smile, waiting to hear what the rest of the phase would hold.  
"Umm…Can you continue with what you were saying?" Gon asked Miss Menchi, who stood with her eyes closed and arms folded over her chest. Miss Menchi opened her eyes to look at Gon, then unfolded her arms and waved her finger in the air, closing her eyes once more. She bent forward slightly with a hand on her hip.  
"In short, if you can make us both say "delicious," you pass. The test will be over when we're both full." Miss Menchi explained to us. I looked at Mr Buhara, he looked like he could eat a lot, so maybe a lot of us would pass with him…but if my theory of him only liking really good food was right than maybe not as many as I originally thought. Miss Menchi on the other hand was really small compared to him, she probably didn't eat much at all.

I thought to myself, wondering what we would have to cook for them. As I previously thought, as long as it didn't involve a toaster, oven, microwave, grill, pan or anything else that can actually cook food; I should be fine.  
"Damn! I've never cooked in my life." Leorio commented in slight distaste. His speech was clearing up, considering his cheek was huge and swollen.  
"I never expected this." My brother said. I knew my brother could cook, to some degree, but he could still cook! After all, if he couldn't then we would have starved a long time ago. He tried teaching me once…then came to the conclusion it was probably better if he did the cooking as I nearly burnt down our make-shift camp site.  
"I have." Gon perked up cheerfully. I looked at him wide eyed along with my brother, Leorio and Killua. Gon can cook? That was really surprising I mean he was my age, so didn't his auntie cook for him? Or maybe his auntie taught him how to cook, that would make a lot of sense.

I stared at him amazement as he continued to smile widely at whilst looking at Menchi and Buhara.  
"That's unexpected. What can you cook?" Leorio asked Gon. Gon hummed to himself as he kept his eyes forward.  
"Many things. But my specialty is a bowl of rice with a raw egg on top!" Gon said proudly, smiling widely up at Leorio. I looked at him even more wide eyed, if that was possible. Rice and egg? Surprisingly, that was still better than what I could do.  
"R-Rice with egg?" Leorio stuttered out in shock.  
"Uh, I guess that can be described as cooking, but…" My brother began saying, trailing off in his words as he tried to remain positive about Gon's most prized dish.  
"The cook doesn't matter for such a dish." Leorio said, laughing at Gon's specialty.  
"That's not true. Aunt Mito praised it." Gon defended, keeping the wide smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile a wide toothy smile at Gon's happy tone over his special dish.  
"I want to try it someday!" I said to him excitedly and cheerfully. Gon looked at me and nodded his head, keeping the wide smile on his face. I would have to make something in return, but hopefully I'll be a better cook by then.  
"Well, all right. You can cook it for me some day." Leorio said, defeated by Gons happy attitude with his special dish.  
"For me, too…" My brother said, in defeat himself. I looked up to my brother to see him smiling awkwardly at Gon. It seemed like he was trying to get his head around the specialty of Gon's rice and egg dish.

It went silent after our little talk until a booming voice sliced through the silence. We looked in the direction it came from to see Mr Buhara, smiling as if in a day dream.  
"Well then… My order is… A while roast pig!" Mr Buhara said, lifting a finger in the air with the daydream look across his face. I looked at him in shock. A whole roast pig?! How could anybody eat a whole roast pig?! Let alone several of them considering how many of us there was.  
"A whole roast pig?" The ninja parroted in shock to Mr Buhara's request.  
"My favourite. Using the most dangerous pig in the world living in this forest… The Great Stamp." Mr Buhara explained to us, a small bit of dribble escaping from the corner of his mouth.  
"The Great Stamp?" All of us questioned him at the same time. It was at that moment a sound of a stampede began entering my ear drums. I looked to my right like everyone else to see a stampede of giant black pigs coming towards us at great speed. I looked at them in panic as I felt myself being pulled along by someone in order to avoid being trampled. I quickened my speed to keep up with the person who pulled me and followed their arm up to see it was my brother. Once I had quickened my pace quite a bit my brother let go of my wrist. This was not how I expected to start the second phase. We ran as fast as we could until the four of us broke away into separate directions, distancing ourselves from each other.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Every so often I looked over my shoulder to see the giant pig running at me, getting that little bit closer making me try and push myself that little bit harder. I quickly peeked down to my bag and began rummaging through it for my Jitte's. I smiled widely to myself when I grabbed them and pulled them out of my bag. When I looked up I found that I had ran myself into a dead end. Furrowing my brows I turned around to face the pig, only to be slammed hard into the tree by its giant snout. Gritting my teeth tightly I tried wiggling my way out from the against the snout of the pig but to know anvil. I gritted my teeth harder together when the pig continued to push me against the tree with its snout. I lifted up my arm with great struggle and out of desperation; I threw my Jitte's at the giant black big, aiming it at its forehead. The creature squealed as it closed its eyes before falling onto its side.

I dropped from the tree trunk onto my bottom and winced in pain, pressing my lips together tightly. I leaned forward and hummed to myself slightly, rubbing the bottom of my back as I stood up slowly. My entire chest and stomach hurt a lot. I was certain it would bruise.  
"That pig really hit me hard. I don't think anything's broken…" I muttered to myself, standing up straight and grimacing as I did. I pressed my fingertips against my chest, winced, and then did the same with my stomach, wincing at that too. I looked back at the pig, it wasn't moving; nor was it breathing. Did I find its weak spot?  
"For a really big thing it has a really strange weak spot." I muttered to myself once more. I walked over to the black creature and picked up my Jitte's from the ground, wincing as I bent down and stood up straight again. Maybe I should get Leorio to see if anything's broken when this Phase was over. I dropped the Jitte's into my bag and walked behind the pig. Grabbing the tail I began dragging the pig back to where I ran from, hoping I would see over people which would lead the way back to the Second Phase exam site.

As I began dragging the creature back something clicked in the back of my mind. I had to cook this giant thing. Mr Buhara wanted a whole roast pig. I frowned and dropped the tail of the pig, sighing to myself. How was I going to cook it? I didn't have a lighter and I sure as hell didn't know how to make a fire. I furrowed my brows in thought as I began pacing to myself, trying to decide the best course of action.  
"What would my big brother do in this kind of situation?" I questioned myself. I stopped my pacing and cleared my throat a little, placing a hand in front of it as I closed my eyes. I kept my eyes closed as I lifted a finger near my face and placed a hand behind my back, trying my best to look as serious as possible.  
"To make a fire you need wood that is able to burn naturally when rubbed together. Not all wood can do this though so you need to really check on the wood." I said to myself, deepening my voice a little to make an impression of my brother. I frowned widely and clamped my hands on top of my head, rubbing my head tightly with the palms of my hands.  
"That doesn't help at all!" I shouted in frustration to myself.  
"You seem like you're having a bit of trouble." A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned my head around, keeping my hands on it. Behind me was Chi, carrying her own pig above her head. For a small lady, she was really strong.

I dropped my hands to my side and smiled awkwardly at her, furrowing my brows with a small nod of my head.  
"I guess." I said to her, admitting that I may have had a small problem. Chi walked towards me keeping her pig above her head. She walked past me and dropped her pig next to me then clapped her hands together as if dusting them off. I watched her carefully; this was the second time she had found me.  
"Hey Chi. How did you find me? I know I shouted, but I don't think I shouted loud enough for people to hear." I asked her, wondering how she could have found me; unless she had been following me but why would she do that? Chi looked at me as she rummaged through her pockets. She looked taken back by the question but then smiled widely at me with her eyes closed.  
"Just luck I guess, uh, Mishka was it?" She said to me. I nodded my head at her question. Chi continued to smile widely and then removed her hand from her pocket. She tossed the item in her hand into the air slightly then caught it, holding it between her finger and thumb.  
"I assume you don't have a lighter? Why don't we cook these pigs together? I could teach you how to cook something like this if you like." She said to me. She was right, I didn't have a lighter. After all I was only twelve and I had given back Leorio's a long time ago, way before we even got to the first phase of the exam. I nodded my head slightly, making her smile even wider.  
"Great! Let's gather some wood then. I'll find some really tough branches we could use as skews to cook these beasties with." She said to me, wondering away from the pigs. I was about to open my mouth to say something, however she had vanished quickly and without a trace.

Sighing slightly I began gathering wood from around the surrounding area, not wanting to leave behind our dead animals in fear that someone else would come and take them. I had managed to gather enough wood to build two fires by the time Chi came back with two long, sturdy looking branches lazily tucked over her shoulder. I looked at her with a blank like expression as she smiled widely at me.  
"Got the wood kiddie?" She asked me. I nodded my head slightly and walked back over to her. She inspected the wood, picking up a piece. Chi hummed to herself slightly before nodding her head and dropping the small twig back into my arms where it sat with the rest of the wood.  
"That's great! We better hurry I doubt we have much time. These guys won't take too long to cook though. They look big, but they're pretty hollow on the inside." Chi said, walking up to one of the dead pigs and knocking it with the back of her fist. I watched her silently and nodded my head once more.

Kneeling down I began arranging the pieces of wood making two camp like fires. Chi walked over and dropped the lighter onto the floor next to me.  
"You know how to use that?" She asked me. I nodded my head slightly once more, receiving a wink and a wide smile in return. That's when she walked back over to the pigs getting ready to skewer them so that we could cook them properly. I lit the two camp like fire pits with the lighter Chi lent me. The smell of burning wood was surprising a pleasant one, depending on the type of wood it was. If it was smoked wood then it was a very pleasant smell. I quickly set up the pieces of wood that would act as stands; and just in time too as Chi had walked back over and dumped one pig after the other onto the make-shift stands. She stretched her hands above her head, yawning loudly to herself.  
"Perfect! You'll want to keep turning it if you want it to cook evenly." She told me, making me nod my head. I quickly stood up and grabbed one end of the make shift skewer then began turning my pig.

I watched Chi carefully. She seemed carefree. Happy. As if she didn't have a worry in the world. I remember her telling me in the First Phase that she and Kai were friends once. She looked at me quickly from the corner of her eyes before turning her head fully to me, smiling widely.  
"Is something wrong?" She asked me. I jumped slightly in shock, not realising I had been staring and quickly turned my head away, shaking it quickly as I went back to turning my pig.  
"No….Actually…Remember in the first phase when you said you and Kai were friends once? What happened?" I asked her, turning my head back to her with a questioning look. She looked at me saddened and looked back at her pig, going back to turning it. Chi pressed her lips tightly together, as if trying to think of what to say.  
"Things happened… things that shouldn't have happened." She said to me. Chi turned her head to me once more and smiled widely at me with a wide toothy grin.  
"But I wouldn't concern yourself with them. You're young and shouldn't be worrying other people's problems. Enjoy being a kid y'know." She said to me, turning her attention back to her pig. I stared at her slightly and silently. The subject really seemed to make her uncomfortable. I nodded my head, deciding it was best to leave it at that, then went back to cooking my pig once more.

The two of us cooked our pigs in silence until they were both a golden brown in colour. Chi helped me remove the skewer from my pig as I was having some difficulty doing so. I lifted the pig above my head, which was surprisingly really light. I looked at it in amazement, staring at the back.  
"You seem surprised. I told you, the pigs are quite hollow. Nice and light to carry." Chi told me, standing next to me. I looked up to her and nodded my head slightly. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and frowned widely, looking a bit upset from the quietness between us.  
"Do I really scare you that much? I do not mean to." Chi asked me. I shook my head quickly and looked at her apologetically.  
"Big brother said not to talk to strangers…But I know your name so…" I said, trailing off as we began walking back to the Second Phase exam site. Chi chuckled slightly at my words, giving me a wide grin once more.  
"Your brother's wise. But like you said, you know my name so I can't be that much of a stranger, right?" She said to me. I thought over her words, trying to make sense of them. In a way she was right, but at the same time that was all I knew. Her name and that she was friends with Kai until something really bad happened…at least it sounded like it was really bad.  
"Don't think over it now. We need to quicken our pace if we want to make it back to the exam site with the others." Chi said to me, speeding up into a jog and then a run. I nodded my head once more and began following after her breaking out into a fall run. I grimaced as I did however, my chest and stomach still sore and painful from the dead roasted pig slamming me into the tree trunk. I just hoped it subsided soon.

We eventually caught up with the rest of the group. As we ran a cloud of dust started kicking up. It was only lucky that we were holding our pugs above our heads that we didn't get them dirty. Chi had once again disappeared into the crowd without a trace. I should have said thank you for helping earlier but it had slipped my mind. I felt rude about it and knew I would need to find her again to thank her for all the help she had given me so far.

As we got closer and closer to Miss Menchi and Mr Buhara, I could see Mr Buhara smiling widely with glee at the feast of pigs that was being brought to him.  
"Here's your order!" All of us shouted together in unison at the large hungry man.  
"Wow!" Mr Buhara said in amazement as he looked at all the pigs that were being placed in front of him, ready to be eaten. I stood with the rest of the crowd, failing to see my brother, Gon, Killua or Leorio anywhere close by. I jumped up and down on the spot trying to see over the pigs to see Miss Menchi's reaction but to know anvil.

Mr Buhara began eating the pigs. For a large guy he ate quite quietly. I couldn't hear him chomp or chew at all; which surprised me a great deal. I waited nervously for him to taste the meal I had prepared, listening to him say everything he had eaten was good so far.  
"Hmm, good!" He commented as he finished off that pig and then moved onto another one, throwing away the skeletons to his side.  
"This is good too!" Mr Buhara said in excitement and joy once more as he finished off that pig too. It was at that moment that I wondered if he even tasted the meat. If he wasn't than I stood a better chance at passing. The only reason why mine even looked okay was because of Chi's help.  
"Mmm, this is good." Mr Buhara commented once more as he continued stuffing pig meat into his mouth with pure bliss.  
"Delicious! Great!" Mr Buhara commented as he finished off the last of the pigs.

I stared in amazement mixed with disguise and slight nausea at the sight I had just witnessed. Mr Buhara patted his stomach with his hands and licked his lips in happiness from the meal he had consumed by himself that would feed a family of four for years to come.  
"Boy, did I eat! I'm stuffed." Mr Buhara announced with a daydream smile on his face. Now that the site was clear I could see Miss Menchi by a gong. She whacked it with the stick making it ring out throughout the forest. I looked around and saw Gon and Killua standing next to each other, with my brother and Leorio standing next to Gon. I quickly made my way over to them and squeezed myself between my brother and Gon.  
"Mishka!" Gon said happily. I smiled a wide toothy smile at the spikey haired boy, glad to see him. I smiled at Killua to, who smiled only a little bit back; although his eyes still dull and unkind.  
"It's over! Seventy four whole roast pigs have been totally consumed!" Miss Menchi said, making us turn our attention back to Miss Menchi and the stuffed giant Mr Buhara. Gon smiled widely with excitement at the site before us.  
"Hunters are really amazing!" Gon said as Killua scratched his face with his finger.  
"He's great in a way. But I don't want to be like him." Killua said as I nodded my head in agreement with the white haired boy.  
"Big brother says gluttony is a sin. I wonder how he hasn't exploded yet." I commented looking at Mr Buhara in pure amazement. Technically his stomach should have gone boom a long time ago. However he didn't seem uncomfortable, or even bloated. He looked like he was quite content with what he had done, a carefree little world he was now living in all because he ate seventy four roasted pigs without upchucking any of it.  
"That's strange. I don't get it! Clearly the volume he ate is much more than his whole body." My brother said, trying to work out the logic behind Mr Buhara's stomach and skin.  
"Well, you don't have to take it so seriously…" Leorio commented to my brother, his hands on his hips as his speech sounded even clearer than before.

Miss Menchi stood next to Mr Buhara, looking up at him as he continued to lick his lips in pure bliss and happiness, his eyes closed as if he was getting ready to fall asleep. She held her hands on her hips as she looked up to the giant man. It looked like the two were having some sort of conversation, the angry look on Miss Menchi's face disappearing after Mr Buhara had said something to hear; keeping the blissful look on his face. Miss Menchi walked back over to the gong and whacked it hard with the stick in her hand.  
"For roasting a whole pig! Seventy four people have passed!" Miss Menchi announced. I smiled widely and jumped up and down on the spot slightly, bouncing about in a small circle and clapping my hands slightly together in excitement glad that I had passed that part of the exam. I definitely needed to say thank you to Chi for helping me out back there when I met her again. She seemed like a really strong lady, so I should have no problem meeting her again…assuming I passed Miss Menchi's part of the exam.

Miss Menchi smiled widely at us with a hand on her hip and the other hand holding the gong stick by her side.  
"I'm not like Buhara. I won't be easy! I will judge very harshly." Miss Menchi announced to us. I stopped my bouncing and furrowed my brows, looking at her with a wide frown. That's what I was afraid of. Miss Menchi placed her other hand on her hip as she became pacing in front of us with her eyes closed.  
"The second of the Phase Two! I'm going to order… Sushi!" She said to us, opening her eyes and smiling widely. I looked at her confused, what was Sushi? Was it a bird? I never heard of a bird called Sushi before. What did you serve with Sushi? Salad? Rice? In a soup? On its own?...What's Sushi? Everyone else seemed just as confused as I was.  
"Sushi?" Leorio questioned in confusion, his voice slurring slightly because of the massive lump on his cheek despite his speech having gotten clearer. Miss Menchi smirked at our confusion, her eye lids dropping with a smirk scratched into her face.  
"You guys look very troubled. Well, I don't blame you for not knowing it. It's the ethnic cuisine of a small island nation. I will give you a hint!" Miss Menchi said smugly to us as she turned around with her arms outstretched to either side of her, a wide smile sitting on her face.  
"Take a look inside." Miss Menchi said to us, closing her eyes and pointing her hand to the inside of the building the two of them had been sitting in originally.

All of us took Miss Menchi up on her other. We curiously wondered to the inside of the building. Inside were lines and lines of counters. On top of the counters were different sized knives, a sink, a chopping board and an oven with grill on the top. On the counter top was even a two types of seasonings. Was Sushi meant to be cooked?! All of us picked a counter to work on. I took on next to my brother and still quite close to Gon and Killua.  
"You cook the dish here. The bare minimum of tools you'll need are provided. I also prepared the rice which is essential for sushi. And now, here is the most important hint! I'm ordering sushi, but it must be nigiri sushi!" Miss Menchi said to us, holding her finger in the hair. So was nigiri a bird? Was there such a thing as a nigiri bird? Is that what she wanted? Was it related to a pigeon? It sounded like it could be related to a pigeon.  
"All right, you may start! When I'm full, the test will be over! Prepare as many as you like in the time allowed!" Miss Menchi said to us, leaving us in pure confusion as to what to do.

I stared at the tool confused, an eyebrow perked up slightly. I looked at the knives carefully, what were they for? I looked at the rice that was a lot of rice for a pigeon like creature. I looked at my brother in confusion.  
"Is Nigiri sushi a bird?" I asked him, generally confused about what we were meant to do. My brother looked at me and shrugged his shoulders slightly. I sighed slightly to myself, if big brother didn't know than there was no hope.

Turning my head back to the counter in front of me I picked up the round shaped tool and looked at it, then started waving it up and down creating some air. What a weird tool.  
"Nigiri…I kind of have an idea of what it looks like… But I have no clue about the other ingredients." Leorio said making me look at him. He held his hand on his chin as he stared at the tools in front of him confused.  
"I don't know what this does but it creates a lot of air! Maybe we have to set nigiri sushi on fire?" I asked him, waving the round tool up and down to create air towards Leorio. Leorio looked at me with a questioning look before looking at my brother who began speaking. I looked up to my brother as well, wondering what he knew about this now that he thought about it.  
"Nigiri sushi… I don't know the exact shape, but I think I've read about it somewhere." My brother said, picking up his own round tool and looking at it.

I stared at him in wonder, wondering when he might have read about it. He read a lot of books and he retained the information like a sponge, so it was no surprise really that he might have read it somewhere and held onto the information.  
"For real?" Leorio questioned my brother in surprise. My brother kept his eyes on the tool in front of him.  
"I believe it's "rice mixed with vinegar and seasonings served with fresh slices of fish."" My brother explained to us. I looked at him questionably. Fish. Is that was nigiri sushi was? Fish? But where would we get fish in the forest? I don't remember passing a lake or a stream…  
"Fish?! But we're in the forest!" Leorio shouted which resulted in my brother throwing his round shaped tool at Leorio's head, shitting him square on the forehead. My brother looked at Leorio angrily as Leorio looked at my brother quite blankly.  
"You're so loud! You can find fish in the river or pond!" My brother shouted at Leorio. He began looking around once he realised what he had done. I furrowed my brows slightly at my brother, he was always so smart but he did let his anger get the better of him sometimes and caused things like this to happen. Things like everybody to stare at him because he told a really good piece of information by mistake.  
"It's fish!" Everybody started shouting as they ran out of the building in search of a pond or river. I ran with my brother and Leorio. My brother looked quite angry at himself for shouting what the answer was.  
"Damn! They were eavesdropping. That's not fair!" Leorio commented as we ran in search of a pond or river.

I followed my brother and Leorio to the river, which was invaded with everyone else too. Leorio had stripped down to his underwear and dove under water to catch the fish. Me and my brother had made make shift fishing rods with a couple of thick long sticks and some string he had lying about in his bag. I looked over at Gon, who looked like he really knew what he was doing. Looking over at Killua, he was able to catch fish with just his pair hands! I stared in amazement, how could anybody catch fish with just their bare hands?! I continued to stare at Killua until the make shift fishing rod began slipping from my hands. I quickly gripped onto it tightly and began pulling myself backwards. I yanked the fishing rod hard falling flat onto my butt. The fish landed in my lap with a thud. I looked at it, a shiver running up my spin. It was slimly, and gross and slimly. Gon smiled over at me happily as he held his string in his hand, a fish attached to it.  
"Hey you caught one!" Gon said as I continued to stare at the fish in disgust.  
"It's so gross! It's so slimly and gross!" I shouted as I grabbed the string, lifting the fish off my lap. I stared at my lap in disgust, feeling another chill run up my spin.  
"Now my clothes are slimly and gross too! Gon how do you find this fun?!" I yelled over to Gon, standing up and wincing slightly as I held onto the string with the fish flailing about on it. Gon shrugged his shoulders slightly as kept the wide smile on his face.  
"It's not that bad." He said to me quite simply and cheerfully. I looked at him in shock. Not that bad?! This was so gross!

We all made our way back to the kitchen with our variety of fish. There was a very big mix of fish about in the kitchen. I took a proper look at the fish I had caught. It was silver in colour and looked like it had whiskers. I raised an eyebrow at it. Was it a cat fish? Or maybe it was a dog fish? Or maybe it was a lion fish? What kind of fish was it? Was it poisonous? I looked at Leorio as he walked back, a plate in his hands with the silver lid on top of it protecting the fish from everybody's view. He walked over to Miss Menchi and stood in front of her. He placed the plate onto the table in front of her. Miss Menchi lent forward and took off the silver lid. I looked at the thing that was in the middle of Leorio's plate oddly. It was a huge ball of rice with fish sticking out of it.  
"Like I'd eat that!" Miss Menchi screamed at Leorio, throwing the dish away over the top of her head.  
"Hey! You don't have to throw it away like that, damn it!" Leorio shouted back at Miss Menchi, quite offended by the way she acted towards his dish of nigiri sushi. I thought it looked alright, I mean nigiri sushi could look like anything, right? Miss Menchi waved her hand at Leorio dismissing him from her sight. Leorio stalked back over to his station that resided close to me and my brother.  
"Listen up! The shape is important! If it isn't shaped like nigiri sushi, it's not even worth tasting!" Miss Menchi shouted to all of us.

I looked back at my fish and tools again. What did nigiri sushi even look like? I picked up the wooden spoon that was in the rice, scooping up some rice with it and dumping it on my plate. I used the spoon to flatten the rice onto the plate and then looked at my fish. What was I meant to do with that?  
"It's no different from Number four hundred and three!" Miss Menchi shouted, making me look over to her. In front of her was Gon. Miss Menchi had her arms in the air, she had obviously thrown away Gon's dish too just like she did with Leorio's. Gon walked back over to his station that was next to mine. My brother walked over to him and placed a hand onto Gon's shoulder as Gon looked quite upset by the news Miss Menchi gave him.  
"I'm at the same level as Leorio." Gon said with disappointment in his voice.  
"I sympathize with you, Gon." My brother said, adding salt to Leorio's already open wound. He could be quite rude sometimes.  
"What did you say?" Leorio questioned from behind my brother, glaring into the back of his skull. I took a deep breath and looked back at my dish once more trying to decide what to do with the fish. I took one the clever and chopped off the head, heads were gross anyway; why would you want to eat something when it was looking at you? Unless that's what nigiri sushi was! I smiled widely at my thought and picked up the fish head with the flat side of the clever. I moved it to the middle of my flattened rice and smiled widely at my creation. That's what nigiri sushi was! A fish head in the middle of a plate of rice! I was going to pass for sure!

I took the silver lid and placed it over the top of my dish, protecting it from the view of others. I smiled widely at Gon, confident in my dish.  
"Don't worry Gon! I'm certain what I got under here is nigiri sushi! I'll come back and tell!" I said to him, smiling a wide toothy grin at him. Gon nodded his head slightly, still upset about being on the same level as Leorio. I joined the end of the growing queue that formed in front of Miss Menchi's table. It was almost like she was a mafia boss and we were offering her loads of money. I ended up behind Killua. Whatever he had under his lid smelt really good!  
"Come on, bring them quickly!" Miss Menchi said as she began looking at each dish.  
"Nope. Not right. In a way, it's close! Next!" Miss Menchi said to the three dishes she looked at, not even trying one piece. I smiled excitedly too myself, I was certain I had this. As Menchi kept dismissing dishes it soon became Killua's turn. I could feel butterflies in my stomach; I was excited about my dish being the right one. Killua placed his plate onto the table and lifted the lid to his dish.  
"Shrimp cocktail, marinated trout with mustard sauce and rice. It's sushi in Bourgogne style." Killua said to Miss Menchi. That sounded really good. I peeked from behind Killua at the dish in front of him. It looked amazing!

I wondered where he learnt to cook so well. Everything looked so nice; the sauce was a nice yellow colour, the rice was in a little mound circled by a brown looking sauce. The shrimp and trout sat in the yellow sauce. I felt hungry looking at it…it looked more appetising than my dish. But I knew my dish was the right dish so it didn't matter! Miss Menchi however felt differently and threw Killua's dish into the air behind her like he had done with everybody else's.  
"That's gross! Next one. Next!" Miss Menchi demanded as Killua walked away, unfazed by Miss Menchi's little outburst. I stepped up as Killua walked away and placed my dish down nervously. I stood up straight with my hands behind my back and a wide smile on my face. Miss Menchi took off the silver lid and looked at my dish in disgust. She threw it away just like the others.  
"You're no different than number four hundred and three too! Next!" She yelled at me. My face dropped, as did my hopes and dreams at passing this phase. I moped back over to my brother and Gon with my head down. I behind my brother and dropped my forehead into his back, leaning forward with my arms dangling towards the ground lifelessly.  
"I'm like Leorio… That means I'll never learn to cook." I muttered to myself miserably.  
"You'll learn someday Mishka, it'll take some time." My brother said to me, encouragement in his voice that someday I will learn how to cook.  
"Why don't you want to be like me?!" Leorio complained as I continued my mopping. There were plenty of reasons why I didn't want to be like Leorio. I felt a pat on my shoulder and figured it was from Gon, seeing as I was using my brothers back as a glorified head rest at the moment.

Miss Menchi sat on the couch with an annoyed expression on her face. She looked unhappy about not tasting anything. It's not our fault if she wasn't tasting anything she told us to make something that sounded like it was part of the pigeon family but actually a fish.  
"I haven't tasted a single one! Are you going to starve me to death?" Miss Menchi shouted throughout the building. I felt my brother shift slightly.  
"I got it!" My brother announced. I removed my head from my brothers back and watched as he quickly went to work on his station. He worked fast and skilfully from what I could tell. He threw the knife away, which was quite dangerous and held the dish in front of him.  
"This must be it!" He announced once more and quickly made his was over to Miss Menchi. I smiled slightly at his enthusiasm. I guess being looked over by him made me pick up some of his smugness when it came to being sure to things. My brother placed the dish in front of Miss Menchi as lifted up the silver lid. She did the same to my brothers dish as she did to everybody else's before.  
"You're at the same level as the first one!" Miss Menchi shouted at my brother. I could see his shoulders drop miserably from behind. I guess that's also were I picked up my moping too.  
"Is it so shocking to you?" Leorio shouted at my brother, pointing at him as me and Gon looked at my brother with sympathy.  
"Don't worry big brother you can still cook dishes you know really good!" I shouted over to my brother, trying my best to throw words of encouragement; though it seemed to have fallen onto deaf ears at the current moment.

My brother walked back over to us, mopping just like I had done before him. Now I definitely knew where I picked up my moping from. Miss Menchi stood up from her seat on the couch with her arms in the air, throwing a temper tantrum like a small child younger than myself.  
"Aaargh! All of you! It's not even about observing or paying attention. You guys have no style at all! This is so frustrating!" Miss Menchi cried in her fit as the ninja began approaching her, smirk on his face. He said something to her, which seemed to have calmed down the raging examiner. The ninja lifted up the silver lid to his plate and held it out in front of Miss Menchi.  
"How's this?! This is sushi, isn't it?" The ninja said to Miss Menchi as she took the plate off of him. She smiled down at the small piece of food in the middle of the plate. She muttered to herself as she continued to stare at it, seeming quite pleased that the ninja had given her something. Is that was nigiri sushi was? My idea was so far from it if that was the case. Miss Menchi took the piece into her fingers and dropped it into her mouth. She chewed it and then closed her eyes, handing the plate back to the ninja while saying something to him. He must have not passed, as he looked quite angry at whatever she said to him.  
"W-what did you say?! A nigiri sushi is rice pressed into a bite-sized rectangular piece with a dab of wasabi topped with sliced of fresh fish! It's a simple dish! No matter who makes it, it won't make much difference in taste!" The ninja shouted at Miss Menchi in anger. Everybody began muttering to themselves. Is that what nigiri sushi was? The ninja knew all along? But if it was a simple dish and didn't matter in taste then why did Miss Menchi want us to make it? Maybe she wanted a free lunch.

Miss Menchi looked angry by the ninja's words. She screwed her eyes tightly in anger and dropped her head slightly after placing the plate onto the table.  
""A simple dish?" "It won't make much difference?" Damn you, bastard!" Miss Menchi yelled at the ninja, grabbing him by the front of the shirt. She glared at him bitterly as the ninja looked at her, terrified for his own life. Sweat began forming on his bald head as he continued to look at her in fear.  
"They say it takes at least ten years of training to be able to make a proper sushi! No matter how hard you amateurs try to copy the shape, the flavour is totally different, idiot!" Miss Menchi shouted at the ninja, shaking him about by his clothing and glaring at him. If looks could kill then the ninja would certainly be dead by now.  
"Then don't pick such a thing as the test subject!" The ninja yelled back at her. He did have a point, if it took ten years than how would we get the taste to how she likes it? Miss Menchi however didn't seem fazed by the ninja's question and continued to shout at hit whilst shaking him about by his clothing. Poor guy.  
"Shut up! You got any complaints?! Want to die?" She questioned the ninja as she continued to shake him about angrily. If he wasn't careful he's head would fall off with the amount of shaking Miss Menchi was doing.

Finally, after nearly killing the ninja, Miss Menchi had let him go. The ninja moped off to the back of the building, muttering something to himself as Miss Menchi walked back over to the couch, dropping herself lazily on top of it. She spread her arms across the back and crossed her legs as she closed her eyes, sighing lightly to herself. It seemed like she had exhausted herself from shaking and shouting at the ninja.  
"Aw gee…shouting made me hungrier. Now then, the next challenger please." Miss Menchi announced. We all quickly made the dish that the ninja described and rushed up to Miss Menchi, holding out our dishes for her to try in hopes that she would like it.  
"Here, have mine!"  
"Try mine!" People began begging to Miss Menchi hoping she would try them. If she was going to try anyone dishes it first it would be mine, Gon's, my brother's Killua's and Leorio's first as we were standing in front of the crowd.

Miss Menchi looked slightly annoyed as she looked between the dishes.  
"Because of him, everybody now knows how to make it! I have no choice but to judge on taste alone. Let me see." Miss Menchi said as he picked off Gon's piece of nigiri sushi. She placed it into her mouth and chewed it, although it looked like she was having some difficulty. Gon leaned forward in hopes of her liking it.  
"Nope! You pressed the rice too hard and it won't break apart." Miss Menchi said to him. I furrowed my brows slightly. It seemed like she was just nit-picking now.  
"Menchi, that's a bit too strict." Mr Buhara said, looking down at Miss Menchi with his brows furrowed in worry at her. For a big guy, he seemed slightly afraid of Miss Menchi. I wonder why he did. Miss Menchi turned her head angrily my Mr Buhara, glaring up at him with her hand clenched into a fist.  
"You keep your mouth shut!" Miss Menchi shouted at Mr Buhara, who looked hurt by her words. Miss Menchi turned her attention back to us and picked off more sushi from peoples plates. She chewed the second piece after staring at it hard and with slight disgust.  
"The fish is cut all wrong! The shape of the rice is bad! Do it again! You worked too slowly. The fish got warmed up by your body temperature! This is not good either! Do it again! No good!"! Miss Menchi complained after every piece she tried. At this rate, no one was going to pass the second phase and we would all have to go home…I didn't want that. Would Sarah understand that the examiner was a really harsh lady? Maybe…but I don't think Jerome would.

By the end of the tasting she poured herself some tea into a thick looking mug with no handle. Bringing it up to her lips she took a sip with her eyes closed. Once she swallowed she placed a hand behind her head and smiled apologetically at us.  
"Sorry! I'm full." She said, rubbing the back of her head. She stared at her in disbelief. What was going to happen now? Would we wait until she's not full anymore? Or would she let us all pass anyway even though she didn't like a single piece?  
"So what happens now?" The ninja questioned Miss Menchi. Miss Menchi kept the apologetic smile on her face with her brows furrowed as she placed down her tea in the thick mug. She lifted a finger after doing so and turned her attention to the ninja.  
"Well, just as I told you at the beginning… It means no one passed. Come again!" Miss Menchi said to us, waving us off. However, none of us moved. I was too much in shock to move. That was it? The exam was over just like that because Miss Menchi was being picky? I didn't like getting angry, but something like that did make me angry. She disliked the food all because of the little things, that wasn't fair!

Miss Menchi looked at us all in slight shock when none of us moved; some of the men in the group became quite angry at her decision.  
"No kidding."  
"No way…"  
"There's no way I can accept this!" People in the group began saying. Miss Menchi looked around at us all, the confused look still sitting on her face as if she did nothing wrong. If she wasn't careful, she would have an entire group of angry applicants on her trying to kill her for being so picky. I guess that's why my brother made sure I wasn't picky about anything I was given to eat. So I didn't turn into a person like Miss Menchi.


	9. Failing x Panic x Heavenly Voice

Anime lover and all silent readers!  
**Anime lover –** Nope, didn't have a clue. I like Leorio; he's a pretty chill guy. I'd hang out with him. Hope you feel better soon!

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**Let's get the legal stuff out of the way first. I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Hunter x Hunter 2011. All rights and ownership go to the following: Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Shonen, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Nobuaki Kishima, Nippon Animation, Viz Media, Fuji TV, Funimation Channel, Satoshi Saga, Yukihiro Matsushite, Makoto Sato, Hiroshi Kojina, Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Madhouse, NTV, Yuzo Sato, Shoji Yonemura and last but not least Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Whew.**

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The group muttered at the fact that we had all just failed due to Miss Menchi's nit-picking. How could we get anything absolutely perfect when we only just learnt what the dish was because the ninja shouted it out to us all by complete mistake? I stared at Miss Menchi wide eyed in disbelief, it couldn't be happening and yet it was.  
"This can't be for real…Everybody fails?" Leorio asked trying to get his head around the whole situation.  
"That's so stupid." Killua dismissed as he lazily propped his hands onto the back of his head and closed his eyes in annoyance. For someone who was doing the exam for fun he seemed quite upset about it ending now.  
"No way! The exam is over?" Gon questioned, upset about the exam now being over.  
"That's really unfair." I commented myself, looking at Miss Menchi with furrowed brows. I was upset about the exam ending so suddenly as well, I didn't want to go back to Sarah's without my Hunter License. The comments behind us were getting even louder and upset as we all tried to understand why Miss Menchi was being so picky.

Miss Menchi however just ignored are comments and instead rummaged through her jean shorts pockets. She took out a phone and began punching in numbers. She held the phone to her ear and muttered something into it. She shortly became angry and started shouting down the phone.  
"Like I said, it doesn't matter. Just tell the committee what I said. No way! The outcome is the outcome. I'm not doing it over!" Miss Menchi shouted down the phone as she leaned away from the couch, clearly angered by whoever it was she was speaking to on the phone. Mr Buhara frowned deeply as he looked down at us all, his brows furrowed himself. He didn't seem too happy by Miss Menchi's decision either.  
"Menchi always loses herself when it comes to food." Mr Buhara explained to us. Miss Menchi ripped the phone away from her ear and glared at the large man behind her who didn't even as much as flinch.  
"Buhara, keep your mouth shut! I'm the one in charge of this test. Any objections?!" Miss Menchi yelled at Mr Buhara before yelling back into the phone, slamming it into her ear.

The group however didn't like the way Miss Menchi was handling the situation. Although some became quiet, even more became angry by her decision. I could feel the room filling with hatred making me shrink my head down into my shoulders to try and keep out of it. I continued to watch Miss Menchi with a frown and furrowed brows, my lips pressed tightly together as she continued to talk down the phone. I watched as Gon quietly stalked to the couch where Miss Menchi sat and looked at him with wide eyes as he sat on the back of the couch.  
"Anyway, I will not change my mind! No one passed Phase Two in cooking." Miss Menchi said down the phone until it was snatched by Gon who placed a smile onto his face to sound happy down the line.  
"Hold it. Time out. Give us a time out, okay?" Gon said cheerfully down the phone. I looked at him in amazement, he was a gutsy kid to go and do that; even more so to an examiner! Miss Menchi however looked passed his bravery, probably thinking he was more idiotic than brave, and glared angrily at him with her hand clenched tightly into a fist.  
"Hey, what are you doing! Give that back to me!" Miss Menchi demanded from Gon, snatching the phone harshly out of his hand.

Gon hopped off the couch and looked at Miss Menchi as if begging her to rethink her decision of failing us all.  
"I have to pass the Hunter Exam and meet my dad." Gon explained to her. Miss Menchi however looked away from him and closed her eyes, keeping the glare on her face as she turned her head away.  
"Oh, I'm sorry for you. But look… The right to decide who passes or fails belong to me, the proctor. You got that, kid?" Miss Menchi explained to Gon sounding quite cold about the whole thing. Miss Menchi wasn't a very nice person from what I could tell; she was actually quite cold and uncaring.  
"That's why all you have to say is, "I will re-administer the test."" Gon said to her cheerfully, coming up behind her from behind the couch with a smile on his face. Miss Menchi glared at him even more so than before.  
"No means no! This year's test is over! You guys too! Go home already." Miss Menchi yelled at Gon before turning her attention to us and yelling at us. She placed her foot onto the edge of the table as if getting ready to kick it at us. I couldn't help but flinch backwards as the sound of crashing flooded the room.

I turned my head towards the noise source to see it was the wrestler who had smashed one of the counter tops. He had no weapons in his hand, so he must have done it with his bare hands. He was surely very strong if he had. The wrestler stood up straight as he looked at us all in the group, hatred for Miss Menchi clear on his face.  
"I can't accept that. I can't just say "All right, I'll go home!"" The wrestler yelled, adverting his heated glare to Miss Menchi. Miss Menchi pointed her thumb to Gon, who looked at the wrestler with wide eyes.  
"I've had enough complaining from this boy. I don't need it from you." Miss Menchi said, making the wrestler step towards her in anger and hatred. Miss Menchi turned her head away from the wrestler and closed her eyes, dropping her head backwards so that it faced the ceiling as she lazily laid her arms on the back of the chair.  
"Look, why don't you try again next year?" She said dismissively, clearly not bothered by all of the group anger and upset attitudes towards her harsh and picky judgement. The wrestler clenched his hand into a tight fist as he continued to glare hatefully at Miss Menchi.  
"Don't give me that crap! I'm not aiming to become a cook, or a gourmet, but a Hunter! Not only that, my goal is to become a Blacklist Hunter! I refuse to be judged by a mere Gourmet Hunter!" The wrestler yelled at Miss Menchi. I furrowed my brows at the wrestler, he wanted to become a Blacklist Hunter like me and my brother, I wondered why though.

I stared back at Miss Menchi who stayed quiet after the wrestler's words. However, it wasn't to think over what he said, it was as if to keep herself from saying something nasty to him. She glared at the wrestler through her hair, angry at his words of calling her a "mere Gourmet Hunter."  
"A mere Gourmet Hunter?" Miss Menchi parroted after the wrestler. The wrestler nodded his head as he continued to glare at Miss Menchi.  
"That's right. How can you call yourself a Hunter when all you do is eat fine food and lay back? What a laugh!" The wrestler questioned her. I had to agree with him, as much as I didn't, that's all she seemed to do. Eat really good food and lay back. Even though big brother say they went to search for new cuisines, it probably wasn't all that dangerous. I frowned widely to myself, unhappy that I thought that of her but I couldn't help it. The wrestler sounded right.

All of the groups mutterings died down as we listened to the wrestler voice his thoughts and opinions to Miss Menchi. In a way, it was brave; Mr Buhara could rip him in half if he stepped on the wrong side of them.  
"That man is…" Leorio said, trailing off in his thoughts.  
"Number two hundred and fifty five. The wrestler Todo." My brother said to Leorio. So that was his name. I was glad my brother could remember things such as names; it made life slightly easier as I was terrible retaining names of people I didn't talk to much or hadn't properly met.  
"I'll never acknowledge such a person as a Hunter. And certainly not a proctor! I bet the other guys won't accept your judgement so meekly either." Mr Todo said to Miss Menchi. A shadow began overcasting the group. I traced the shadow to see that Mr Buhara had stood up and walked towards Mr Todo. I looked at the large man with wide eyes, he was very tall. He was still very much round, but his height in inhuman, just like his body structure. Was Mr Buhara a giant?!  
"Hold it, Buhara. Stay out of my business, will you?" Miss Menchi asked Mr Buhara, speaking to him in a sort of polite tone since the first time in a while.  
"I can settle this by breaking a few bones in his body. But if you do it, you'll cook him, won't you?" Mr Buhara said to Miss Menchi, scratching his cheek in thought. I jumped slightly at his words looking at her with fear.  
"Cook…?" Leorio questioned in shock as Gon moved away from behind Miss Menchi. He took a stand next to the couch.  
"I'm curious to see what you mean by "cook."" Killua said, trying to egg on the whole situation.  
"So they are cannibals!" I proclaimed quietly to myself and the small group I was with that was made up of my brother, Leorio and Killua at that moment in time.

Miss Menchi brought her head forward slightly and looked at us all with a bored expression, her arms still dangling behind the back of the couch.  
"Cripes! That's why I hate amateurs. All right. Number two hundred and fifty five, I'll show you what being a Gourmet Hunter is really about. The other applicants can watch too. It'll be my farewell gift to you all. Give me about an hour." Miss Menchi said to us all as she turned her back to us. She held her arms out slightly, wielding two large, sharp knives, and flipped them around before putting them into the holster strapped to her waist.  
"An hour?!" Mr Todo parroted in annoyance to Miss Menchi's request. Miss Menchi began walking out of the building, all of us following her out like little lost puppies. She stopped and stretched her arms above her head; her fingers laced together then dropped them to her sides. She was as fast as lightening as within a split second she was gone, leaving nothing more than a small dust cloud where her foot was. The group began whispering, admiring her speed. For a person that just ate really good food all the time she was really fast.

All of us hung around the building waiting for Miss Menchi to come back. I periodically looked up at the clock, went back to the book I was reading, and then looked back at the clock. I was a terrible clock watcher. I had decided to take a seat next to Gon on the couch. We sat opposite of Mr Buhara. Gon had the soles of his feet resting against the edge of the table.  
"Hey, Gon. How long has it been?" I asked Gon from my book as I turned over one of the pages. I tried to distract myself from clock watching, although I kind of knew how long it had been due to my clock watching in the first place.  
"It's almost been… an hour?" Gon said, looking up at the clock slightly himself as he answered my question. I sighed slightly at his answer, Miss Menchi said all she needed was an hour…I wonder if she lost track of time.

I looked up from my book as I heard the sound of a strong gust of wind. Folding the page over I closed the book and dropped it into my bag then turned around on the couch. I sat up on my knees and rested my hands against the back of the couch, just peeking up from behind it to see what could have made the wind.  
"I'm back." Miss Menchi's voice yelled from behind me. I turned my head over my shoulder to see Miss Menchi leaning an elbow against the door frame, a wide smile on her face. She seemed much more relaxed since leaving for an hour.  
"You said something about a farewell gift. You're empty handed." Mr Todo commented to Miss Menchi, a smirk edged into his face.  
"Where are you looking." Miss Menchi shot back at him as she stuck her fingers between her breasts. I clasped my hands over my eyes; that's not where you stored things, that's why you have pockets! How could she do that just so freely with no concern about the others around her?!  
"See this?" Miss Menchi asked the whole group.

I assumed she had stopped putting her fingers between her breasts and moved my fingers apart slightly to look through them. In her between her thumb and finger was a very small vial filled about half way with green stuff in it. It looked like mould.  
"What the hell is that?" Leorio questioned, staring at the small vial with a questioning gaze. Gon hopped off the couch as I dropped myself to sit properly on it with my hands in my lap. He looked closely at the small vial and then turned his head to the rest of us.  
"It's moss! But it's not ordinary moss." Gon said to us making Miss Menchi smile at him for the first time since we began this Second Phase.  
"Hey kid, you have good eyes." Miss Menchi praised Gon. Mr Todo glared at Miss Menchi, angry at her farewell gift to us all.  
"Moss, you said?" He said to her bitterly. Miss Menchi placed her hands onto her hips and walked towards one of the rice cookers, a smug look on her face. She flicked off the top of the small vial with her thumb as she stared at the rice cooker.  
"This isn't ordinary moss. Minced very finely and sprinkled over rice… It's excellent." Miss Menchi explained to us as she dropped a small bit onto the chopping board and began mincing it with speed. She then pushed it off the chopping bored with the flat edge of the knife, sprinkling it over the top of some unused rice that was on a plate. She held the plate out to Mr Todo after slamming the tip of the knife into the chopping board, a smirk on her face.  
"Now try it." She said to Mr Todo, expecting him to eat the green topped rice.

I hopped off the couch myself, wanting to get a better look at the dish she had prepared. I quickly squeezed myself through the group and managed to get myself next to Gon. Standing on my toes I looked at the plate of moss topped rice as Miss Menchi held out a spoon to Mr Todo for him to taste.  
"How dare you expect me to eat moss! What an insult! It's not even funny!" Mr Todo yelled at Miss Menchi, who looked taken back by his uproar of eating the mossy rice. Gon hopped onto the top of the counter and picked up the plate. He then took the spoon out of Miss Menchi's hand.  
"Then I'll try it. Here I go!" He said happily, smiling down at the food. He shoved the rice into his mouth much to Leorio's surprise and concern.  
"Don't do it, Gon! What if you get sick?!" Leorio questioned the spikey haired boy as he happily chewed on the rice.  
"Gon can tell whether it's edible or not." Killua interjected, looking at Leorio from over the top of his shoulder. Gon continued to chew on the rice. It looked like he was trying to put a flavour to it, or decide if he actually liked it or not.

Gon stared at the ceiling as he continued chewing. Leorio walked over to Gon, standing close to him.  
"It's disgusting, isn't it? You can spit it out." Leorio said to Gon, giving him permission to spit out his food. Gon hummed to himself and shook his head making Leorio smile widely at him.  
"Is it delicious?" Leorio questioned him excited. Gon hummed once more and furrowed his brows, not too sure what to call the moss rice.  
"Not really…" Gon said to him, swallowing the moss covered rice that he had chewed on for a long time. Leorio stood up straight and looked at Gon seriously, as if he was an older sibling or a parent trying to get their younger sibling or offspring to make up their mind.  
"Which is it? Is it good or bad? Make up your mind!" Leorio demanded from Gon. Gon frowned at Leorio and leaned forward slightly, almost as if he was sorry for not knowing what to call the food.  
"I've never tasted anything like this before. I can only say that it has an unusual flavour." Gon said to him as I continued to stare at the plate in his hand. It didn't look very nice, but the smell was really odd. Miss Menchi laughed to herself slightly as she closed her eyes, looking quite smug about what she had caused between Gon and Leorio.  
"It's not surprising for a kid to be confused. This is taken from the Big Horn bear which is found only in the Lauru Mountains beyond the Milsy Wetlands… Only few are known to be alive and this is their horn moss." Miss Menchi said to Gon, leaning forward slightly as she waved her finger about.

Miss Menchi walked up behind Gon and placed her hands onto his shoulders as he stared at the moss rice some more. She smiled gleefully to herself, happy about obtaining the moss in the first place.  
"This is the rare delicacy that every gourmet in the world would drool over." Miss Menchi said to Gon with total glee. I stared at the dish oddly myself, it didn't look that exciting. Leorio stared up at the ceiling slightly in thought as he moved back to the group.  
"Hey, wait a minute. She said she got it by going beyond that marsh where half the applicants had dropped out?!" Leorio questioned in disbelief, wondering if it was true or not.  
"Not only that, she made it within an hour without a scratch on her body." My brother commented, sounding amazed himself.  
"She's quite good." Killua said a happy tone in his voice. I stared at Miss Menchi, she was confusing. She managed to get past a marsh where half the applicants and more dropped out and did it within an hour without getting hurt. Yet all she did was eat good food. What was she? She was confusing, that's all I could say.

Miss Menchi took the plate off of Gon and walked back to the couch and sat on it with her legs crossed. She looked at Mr Todo with a smug grin on her face. She placed the plate down onto the table and leaned her arm onto the back of the couch.  
"Do you have a better opinion of the Gourmet Hunter now?" Miss Menchi asked Mr Todo. Gon grabbed a small plate off the counter and a spoon then quickly made his way to the table with a small smile on his face.  
"I need a few more bites before I can judge the flavour." Gon said as he got ready to put some more of the mossy rice onto his little plate. Miss Menchi snatched the small plate and spoon out of Gon's hands, glaring hatefully at him as if he just went and kicked a small child for no reason.  
"Don't you dare help yourself! Do you know how precious this is?!" Miss Menchi yelled at Gon, who looked distraught that she took the plate and spoon off of him. I kind of envied him a little bit, even if it didn't look that good; he was the only person in our group that I knew of that managed to get anything into his empty stomach since we started the exam.

Mr Todo growled to himself bitterly then brought his leg back. He kicked the table hard making it flip over. The small vial of moss that sat on top of it flew into the air with the lid coming clean off. Miss Menchi quickly jumped out of the way and grabbed the small vial, quickly shutting the lid back onto it to protect its contents from spilling onto the floor.  
"I don't care how precious that food is. All I care about food is to fill my stomach. A Gourmet Hunter who puts so much value in such a thing is just a frivolous person with the "Hunter" title." Mr Todo shouted at Miss Menchi. Miss Menchi began standing up, not even blinking an eyelid at Mr Todo's insults towards her.  
"You are hopefully stupid." She said to him simply, only making him even angrier.  
"What did you say?" He shouted at her, getting more and angrier with every passing second. The room just began filling with tension and anger, it made it hard to breathe if anything.  
"We're not just going to accept your decision to flunk us either!" One man shouted at her, stepping in front of Leorio, my brother and Killua. I stayed behind my safe spot at the counter, everybody was too interest in trying to ring Miss Menchi's neck then coming to the counter.  
"I'm going to grab your neck and drag you to the Exam committee to tell them that Gourmet Hunters are not qualified to be proctors!" Mr Todo yelled at Miss Menchi, pointing a finger at him. Miss Menchi however remained unfazed and stuck her hands into her pockets as she turned around to walk away from him.  
"Do as you please." She said to him simply as she began walking towards the exit of the building we were standing in.

Soon people began rushing at her, yelling at her to stop where she was going. Miss Menchi turned around slightly with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face, unamused by the groups' actions towards her. Two men began rushing at her as if getting ready to strike her. We had already failed, so technically we couldn't be disqualified for trying to fight her. I didn't want any part of it though; fighting a proctor was on my list of things not to do at the Hunter Exam. However, Mr Buhara suddenly stepped in and swung his massive hand at the two men sending them flying into a wall. Mr Todo looked up to Mr Buhara in anger and ran at him. Mr Buhara swung his hand once more which Mr Todo ducked under skilfully. It was then that Mr Todo picked up Mr Buhara from underneath and lifted him into the air from his shoulders, slamming him hard into the wall. The wall smashed as Mr Todo smirked at his handy work. Mr Buhara sat up straight and smiled at Mr Todo who wiped his chin clean from dust.  
"You are quite strong. Maybe I'll be more serious." Mr Buhara said as he began standing up taking Mr Todo by surprise. Mr Todo began backing away from Mr Buhara who stood up slowly and kept the smile on his face. Miss Menchi stepped in front of Mr Buhara, the glare never leaving her face.  
"Buhara, don't interfere." Miss Menchi said to Mr Buhara. Mr Todo swung punches at Miss Menchi who dodged them skilfully. The only thing she did was cross her arms over her chest. She kicked him when he knelt down and then swung her leg around to send him to the ground.

For someone who ate good food she was very good at fighting…maybe I had Gourmet Hunters all wrong and there was a lot more involved than just food. She leant forward slightly, glaring hatefully at Mr Todo who laid on the floor; his pride hurt and bruised.  
"You're aspiring to become a Blacklist Hunter with that ability? Don't make me laugh! It doesn't matter what kind of Hunter you want to be. If you are a Hunter, you must be skilled in fighting. That's something you'll learn as a Hunter whether you like it or not." Miss Menchi said to Mr Todo, who shook in anger and possibly a bruised ego. I guess that's why big brother taught me self-defence. It's one of the things you would need as a Hunter; the entire world wasn't rose tinted or friendly and warm, I learnt that the hard way.  
"Miss Menchi, that's enough." A voice from behind spoke out. I looked over the top of the counter to see Mr Satotz standing at the door way, his hands behind his back as he stared blankly at Miss Menchi.  
"At this point, no one dares doubt your ability as a proctor. How should I put it? It's not my business to say anything about Phase Two, but…" Mr Satotz began saying only to be cut of cruelly by Miss Menchi's words.  
"Then keep your mouth shut! No matter what anyone says, I have no intention of changing the test results. Look! What I looked for in this test was not simply psychical strength! What I was testing in this Exam was whether you had the guts to confront something unknown to you!" Miss Menchi yelled at us all.

I decided to make my way back to our small group and left the safety of the counter. I managed to squeeze myself through the crowd once more, apologising quietly to people I may have accidently pushed and squeezed myself between my brother and Leorio. I looked at Miss Menchi with furrowed brows, she seemed even more angry up close than afar; it was intimidating.  
"Still, Miss Menchi… Don't you think it's too harsh that no one passed?" A voice over a speaker phone boomed over the top of us. I looked in the direction it was coming from and could just about see an airship in the air. It bore the Hunter Association mark on it meaning it was an official Hunter Association aircraft. Miss Menchi gasped in surprise; I guess the appearance of the official aircraft took even her back.

The aircraft buzzed over the top of us as it became clearer to us. All of us started scattering outside to get a better look at the aircraft. I stood next to Gon and my brother as we looked up at the massive airship. Was someone going to help us and make Miss Menchi change her mind? Suddenly a body flew out of the airship and came down towards the earth at speed. As the body landed a huge cloud of dust flew into the air in a cyclone like twister. I stared in amazement at the dust cloud wondering who could be brave enough to do that. As the dust cleared away it revealed an elderly man with a long grey beard and grey pony tail standing as if he hadn't just jumped out of a moving airship.

The elderly man wore brown clothing, the top covering his hands and the trousers stopping by his ankles. He wore sandals on his feet with two very long pieces of wood stuck to the bottom. It must have been difficult to walk on. He looked wise though, as if he had seen many things and witness different sites both good and bad. We all couldn't help but gape in amazement at the elderly man who thought nothing of his airship jumping.  
"M-Mr Chairman." Miss Menchi stuttered at the elderly man, shocked that he was standing there in front of her. I stared at Mr Chairman myself in amazement, was he going to help us all and let us retake the second phase?

The elderly man began walking towards Miss Menchi. He took his time. Miss Menchi however stood as if she was a caught in a sudden burst of light; it was as if she was shocked to see the man who she called "Mr Chairman" standing there and walking towards her. Mr Chairman's sandals clopped against the ground as he walked towards her; how he didn't fall over was a mystery to me.  
"Who is that old man?" Leorio whispered to my brother a little bit too loudly as we stood behind Miss Menchi .  
"Menchi called him "Mr Chairman," which means…" My brother started with a small smile on his face.  
"That maybe we can do the Second Phase again!" I said excitedly, hoping up and down on the spot slightly in excitement at the thought of redoing the Second Phase.  
"He jumped from that height…That's amazing." Gon said in wonder, starting up at the old man himself with large wondering eyes as I continued my excited bouncing.  
"I'll say! What kind of bones does he have in his legs?" Killua said sounding both amused and unamused at the same time. Applicants started walking over to the spot where he landed, which revealed to be a slight crater made up of a small circle and then a bigger circle on the outside. He seemed like an amazing person.

As Mr Chairman got closer Miss Menchi continued to stare until she bent down a little bit in respect to him.  
"It's been a while, Chairman Netero." She said to him with the upmost polite tone she has mustered since we met her earlier today. It was as if she turned into a different person, all because of the presence of Mr Chairman. Mr Chairman nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement of her greeting. Everyone in the group began muttering, confused and surprised about Miss Menchi's sudden change in tone and attitude.  
"The chairman of the Exam Committee. He's the most important person in charge of the Hunter Exam." Mr Satotz said, walking through the group of people that parted ways, allow him to walk to Mr Chairman. I smiled widely at those words, so that could really mean we could take the exam again!  
"So he really is an important person." Gon said as I nodded my head agreeing with him, my bouncing getting more and more excited with edge passing second.  
"No wonder…" Killua commented, his enthusiasm not being as pronounced as Gon's. I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders and looked up, tilting my head backwards slightly to see my brother had stepped in behind to stop my over-excited bouncing. I sighed slightly and turned my attention back to Mr Chairman and Miss Menchi, my bouncing under control because of my brother's touch.

As Mr Satotz neared Mr Chairman, he bowed slightly with a hand on his chest to show his respect to the elderly man.  
"Well, I'm the chairman, but I stay behind the scenes and act as a trouble-shooter at times like this. Anyway, Miss Menchi…" Mr Chairman said sincerely as he turned his attention away from Mr Satotz and to Miss Menchi instead.  
"Y-Yes!" Miss Menchi replied to him, this time nervously. I stared at the pink haired woman in wonder, not a few moments ago was she giving us a hard time and now she was as nervous as I was when the Exam started. Her sudden change in attitude was surprising….were all women like that? Just suddenly changed attitudes? I hope I won't be when I grow up.  
"Look, that Menchi is so nervous." Leorio commented, picking up on Miss Menchi's sudden change of attitude.  
"That proves how important that man is." My brother replied to Leorio as I nodded my head quickly, more quickly than usual due to my brothers forced anti-bouncing.

We all watched carefully as Mr Chairman stared at Miss Menchi with a blank, but kind expression; his hands behind his back. Miss Menchi didn't look as relaxed as Mr Chairman though. She seemed very stiff and almost afraid of him.  
"You were trying to test their spirit by challenging them something unknown through cooking in Phase Two?" Mr Chairman asked Miss Menchi, making sure all his information about the test was correct.  
"Exactly! That was my sole objective. That's why I gave them a difficult subject, but…" Miss Menchi began saying until she cut her sentence short.  
"But?" Mr Chairman egged her on, as if trying to coax a very small child into saying what they did wrong or what they thought was wrong and why.  
"Well, I…" Miss Menchi stuttered, unsure as to what to say next and if anything quite taken back by Mr Chairman's questions. I found it strange; for a woman that was practically bullying all of us because of her position and power; she was quite the opposite around Mr Chairman.  
"You have evaluated them with that objective in mind and you felt every one of them had a problem with their attitude. In other words, you concluded no one was qualified to pass. Is that so?" Mr Chairman summed up for Miss Menchi. I felt a little bit saddened by his words. I never spoke to Miss Menchi, so how could she think I had a problem with my attitude. Maybe I was being too quiet or not "up front" enough. I knew one thing for sure though; it made me think about the way I act around people.

Miss Menchi however shook her head, not agreeing with the Mr Chairman's words. She dropped her head slightly from what I what I could tell looking at the back of it.  
"No. Some applicants made light of cooking and I lost my head. On top of that, there was another trouble where all the applicants found out how to make the dish… So I not only got more upset, I also became too full and…" Miss Menchi admitted to Mr Chairman, who stood calmly and listened to every word the pink haired chef said to him.  
"In other words, you were fully aware that the applicants weren't tested thoroughly?" Mr Chairman asked Miss Menchi, egging her on for some more information. Miss Menchi nodded her head once more, keeping it dropped. It was as if she couldn't even dare to look at Mr Chairman.  
"Yes. When it comes to cooking, I tend to lose myself. I am not fit to be a proctor. I'm sorry." She said to Mr Chairman, bowing her head once more until she bowed in complete respect to him. I continued to stare wide eyed at her, this awful, rude woman could be calm and nice when she wanted to be; or when faced with an authority figure in this case. It was amazing, but at the same time it made me worried on what adulthood would actually bring. I hoped I didn't end up like Miss Menchi.

Mr Chairman chuckled whole-heartedly at her words as he lifted his head up slightly to laugh into the sky.  
"You are an honest young woman. Certainly, as a proctor, I see some problems. But it's understandable, you being a Gourmet Hunter with the title of Single Star Hunter. It's proof of your passion for cooking." Mr Chairman said to Miss Menchi with Mr Satotz nodding his head in agreement to the elderly man. I looked at Miss Menchi with amazement. A Single Star Hunter?! That meant she was one of the best in the world! Miss Menchi stood up straight once more after hearing Mr Chairman's small speech.  
"Mr Chairman…" Miss Menchi said to him in slight disbelief. Mr Chairman raised a finger in front of Miss Menchi as he continued to talk to her. I wondered if he even knew we were here.  
"Let me propose this. We will administer another test. And I want Miss Menchi to continue to be in charge of the evaluations. However for this retest, I want you to participate by giving a demonstration. How about it?" Mr Chairman asked Miss Menchi, wondering if those conditions were alright with the Single Star Hunter. He slowly dropped his finger to his side as Miss Menchi stayed quiet, just staring at him; or so I assumed. Mr Chairman placed his hand behind his back once more as he continued talking.  
"That will make it easier for them to accept your judgement." Mr Chairman finished off to Miss Menchi.

The group began whispering to each other as I continued to star at Miss Menchi in amazement. She didn't look that old and she was a Single Star Hunter. I still couldn't get my head around it; I was more interested in that then retaking the exam. I wonder when she took the exam. Was she a little girl too?  
"I was really worried about what would happen to us." Leorio commented in a whisper to my brother, although his whispering skills were far from perfect.  
"But we're still going to be tested by our cooking ability. We can't take it too easy." My brother explained back to Leorio as he kept his hands on my shoulders.  
"We're going to have another test." Gon said excitedly, sounding happy about taking a new test.  
"Yeah. Aren't you glad, Gon?" Killua questioned Gon as he nodded his head showing he was happy.  
"Are you happy about it Mishka?" Gon asked me as I continued to stare at Miss Menchi in amazement.  
"She's a Single Star Hunter…" I said in amazement, ignoring Gon's question by answering it with something that wasn't relevant or related. I felt stares on me and jumped out of my thoughts slightly and turned my head to it. Gon looked at me with a wide smile on his face as Killua did the same, although a lot smaller and not seeming that happy about it. I rethought over his question again, this time actually taking it into my brain.  
"Yeah I'm glad!" I said to him, smiling widely at him, receiving an equally as wide smile back from the spikey haired boy.

The whispering and muttering continued around the group as Mr Chairman stared at Miss Menchi, waiting for her answer to his question.  
"Anyway… What is the subject for the test, Miss Proctor?" Mr Chairman asked Miss Menchi, deciding that he was going to decide for her rather or not she redid the exam. Rather she wanted to or not she was going to now. The groups whispers and mutterings died down as Miss Menchi looked to the floor slightly as if in thought to what we could do.  
"Let me see…All right… The subject is…A boiled egg!" Miss Menchi said to Mr Chairman, lifting up her head once more. She seemed more proud in her voice, more confident. Her body language certainly suggested that she was more confident and proud this time.  
"Yippee!" Gon cheered excitedly as I smiled widely. A boiled egg. Okay, I can't cook but this couldn't be too difficult right? I mean I watched my big brother do it loads of times; you just leave the egg to do what it needs to do in the water and come back to it a few minutes later; that was it. What could go wrong?  
"Gee, that's…" Killua began saying, looking away as he tried to put a word to it.  
"Excellent!" I shouted happily to him, smiling widely at the white, scruffy haired boy. Killua looked back at me and sighed slightly, shaking his head as if disappointed in my excited state of doing just a boiled egg.

The group went back to muttering about the new test as Miss Menchi pointed to a mountain that looked quite far away. I could only see the top, the tree covered the rest of the mountain.  
"Mr Chairman, will you take us to that mountain?" Miss Menchi asked Mr Chairman. He turned around slightly to see where she was pointing at. He turned back around to face Miss Menchi after looking at the mountain.  
"I see. That can be arranged easily." Mr Chairman said as his airship suddenly came back into view. All of us boarded the aircraft with excitement. I had never been on an aircraft before. Me and my brother got to Whale Island by boat; that's how we got to places that were over the sea; aircrafts were too expensive and we didn't have the money. I hurriedly walked over to one of the windows just in time to see it take off from the ground. I smiled widely in excitement at the thought of us flying. What amazed me even more was that it was able to carry Mr Buhara, who I thought would be too big for the ship to manage.

My stomach started turning as the airship got higher and higher. I began feeling sick and tore myself away from the window. I had forgotten I was afraid of heights, and seeing the air becoming further and further away made me remember that I was. I quickly pushed my back to the wall and slid down it, bringing my knees to my chest; I just had to pretend I wasn't flying at all. It didn't feel like I was flying. But no matter how much I told myself that, my brain wouldn't register that fact; it kept reminding me that I was in the air with no way down but to fall down.

The aircraft took us to the mountain within no time at all. It landed as gracefully as it flew in the sky. I looked out of the window once more when the ship landed firmly on the ground. I took in all the details of the mountain. It was split right down in the middle. The middle from what I could see was pitch black, there was probably no ending to the fall. I made me slightly nervous. I followed my brother off the ginormous aircraft once we were told it was safe to get off then took a space next to Gon. Miss Menchi walked over close to the edge of the mountain as the rest of us stayed at a safe distance.  
"Here we are." She said simply with a smile on her face. Some of the group got brave and walked over to the edge of the giant gap. They gasped when they looked down and began muttering to themselves again; something they seemed to do quite regularly.  
"Umm…Where the hell is this?" Someone in the group questioned loud enough for all of us to hear.  
"Don't worry. There is a deep river down there. Well, I'm going ahead." Miss Menchi said as she took off her heel boots and turned around on the balls of her feet with her hands on her hips. It was with that, that she jumped off the edge of the mountain and down into the giant, black gap.

I couldn't help but gasp with the rest of the group. Why would she do that?! Mr Chairman walked to the edge himself and peeked down it with his hands still behind his back. He was able to keep balance even on the very unbalanced looking sandals. Mr Chairman then turned his attention back to us.  
"She went down to get an egg of the Spider Eagle which lives in this Split Mountain." Mr Chairman explained to us calmly. I felt a lump in my throat; I hoped the Spider Eagle was more Eagle than Spider. I didn't like Spiders, they were bugs and bugs were gross! And maybe it had a little bit to do with the fact that the people who killed our clan had Spider tattoo's; at least that's what my brother said. It was mostly because they were bugs though.  
"The Spider Eagle hangs its eggs on its strong web to protect them from land beasts living in the area. Bring back one Spider Eagle's egg." Mr Chairman explained to us. Is that all we had to do? Jump down a seemingly endless gap to retrieve an egg? That sounded easy enough except, I was afraid of heights. If I didn't do too well on the airship, I dreaded to think how I would react to jumping down that gap.

Miss Menchi's head eventually popped up from the side of Split Mountain. She rested one arm across the floor with her other hand raised into the air, a small egg in her hand. It was grey in colour and covered in black spots. She smiled widely at us, showing us her prize.  
"You are to make a boiled egg with this." Miss Menchi said to us as she jumped up from behind the mountain gap. She looked down towards the gap with a hand on her hip, a small smirk on her face.  
"You have to be careful. The river current below is very swift. If you fall, you will be washed out straight to the sea kilometres away." Miss Menchi said as if it wasn't that big of deal. Well, it might have not been for her, she was a Single Star Hunter. I bet nothing seemed like a huge deal to her now!  
"I'm glad. I was waiting for something like this." Gon said excited about the prospect of doing this sort of thing. Killua placed his hands behind his head and a small smile on his face, agreeing with Gon. I looked at him as if he was mad and shook my head quickly.  
"I don't want to jump down there! What if they're more Spider then Eagle?!" I said to him, fidgeting slightly on the spot. Killua looked at me slightly amused as Gon kept the wide smile on his face.  
"You want to become a Hunter right?" He questioned me. I prodded my first fingers together and furrowed my brows slightly as I tried my best to tuck my head into my shoulders.  
"Well yeah…" I said to him as he continued to smile widely at me as I continued to frown at him. When I saw he wasn't going to give up with his silent convincing I sighed loudly. I took a deep breath and dropped my arms to my sides, giving him a small smile; my brows still furrowed at him.

The thought of jumping down there… I just couldn't get my mind used to it, especially seeing as it seemed like there was no end to that giant, black gap.  
"If I fall I'm taking you with me." I muttered to him. Gon however just chuckled at my small little and a little nod. I don't think Gon would let me fall down there anyway…at least I liked to think he wouldn't. I looked forward to see my brother and Leorio walked up close to the gap to get a better look down it.  
"It's so much simpler than running or cooking a strange ethnic dish." Leorio commented as he leaned forward to get a better look down the big black gap.  
"I agree with you…" My brother said back to Leorio with his hands behind his back. It sounded like he was relieved in his voice. In a way, compared to cooking that strange ethnic dish, this was much simpler.

The three of us walked up to my brother and Leorio. We looked down the gap. Everybody else was smiling down, excited for the challenge. I was more worried about falling to my doom then actually doing the challenge. It was at that moment that Leorio jumped down the gap.  
"I'm going ahead!" He said cheerfully as Killua followed after him with his hands in his pockets. I watched Gon carefully as he began walking around behind me innocently, his hands locked behind his head. As I watched him he disappeared behind me. I was suddenly falling forward. I could feel my face pale as I quickly looked up to see Gon following after me with a large smile on his face and then my brother who jumped down backwards like the smug person he could be. As we fell I could hear more and more people shouting as they too jumped down. I grabbed onto one of the webs tightly with my hands and screwed my eyes shut. I felt the web jolt slightly and looked to my right to see Gon smiling as he dangled.  
"Why did you push me?!" I yelled at him, looking at him angrily. Gon however just continued to smile widely as he looked back at me with his usual wide grin.  
"You said if you fell you were taking me with you. So I pushed you then followed you; it's kind of the same thing in a way." Gon said, shooting my own logic back at me. I continued to glare at him slightly until I looked down. I felt my face pale even more than it had done and screwed my eyes shut once more; I should not have looked down.

I took a couple of deep breathes as I heard splashing and screaming down form the river below. Once I had calmed myself down I began pulling myself up onto the web. I felt Gon do the same from next to me. I watched as Gon began running across the web as I steadied myself on it. This took some skill, it was like that game I used to play when I was little. You had to walk across some yellow chalk and only the yellow chalk. It was a lot harder than it sounded, as the rest of the ground was lava. It was hard to balance. Once I felt I gained my balance I held my arms out to either side of me and walked along the web towards one of the egg sacks.  
"Isn't this fun?" I heard a familiar voice shout. I looked over to the voice to see Chi waving over with an egg in her hand and her other hand on top of her head to keep her hat in place. I shook my head quickly making her chuckle slightly then began climbing up the wall towards safety. I took a deep breath once more and walked slightly quicker towards the egg sack. Once close enough I gently took an egg away from it and held it closely to me. I couldn't help but sigh in relief, there were no Spider Eagles to be seen.

I heard squeaking and looked around me to see brown Eagles with white heads flapping about. They had a gem on their head with four legs protruding from each side, like a Spider. At least they were more Eagle than Spider. I held the egg close to me and brought my head down to try and protect it from being pecked by the angry birds of prey.  
"Gon!" I heard Leorio shout. I peeked through my hair slightly to see Gon diving head first towards Mr Todo, who was falling towards the river. Gon grabbed Mr Todo's arm and swung his fishing rod, hitching it onto one of the webs. It stopped him and Mr Todo from falling into the river that was down below. I couldn't help but sigh in relief; I didn't really want Gon to go down into the river.  
"Are you all right, Gon?" Leorio yelled down to the spikey haired boy.  
"Yup. I'm all right!" Gon yelled back up to us. I brought my head up properly, looking down to where Gon was so I could see him better. I gently placed the egg into my trouser pocket and slowly made my way over to him to help him and Mr Todo up with the help of the others.

We managed to help Gon and Mr Todo out of Split Mountain, all of us with our eggs. I had taken my egg out of my pocket and held it close to me as if protecting whatever life was inside it. Gon helped Mr Todo out, who crawled up on his hands and knees.  
"This is not the first time, but you're too reckless!" Leorio commented to Gon about his behaviour. Gon smiled over to Leorio, who held a hand on his hip.  
"I'm all right." Gon reassured him. I couldn't help but smile widely at Gon; he was a very different person. He helped people and made people do what they normally wouldn't do and even though I may have disliked him for a few seconds after he pushed me down the mountain, I was glad he did. I would need to tell him that.  
"The hunt for the ingredient is over. Show me the egg you've gotten." Miss Menchi yelled to all of us who took part. I looked over to her. There was a giant pot sitting on top of the a lot of wood to heat the water inside. Mr Todo smirked as he stood up, his hands clenched into fists. He turned his head back to us, a smirk scratched into his face.  
"Don't think ill of me, but the egg is mine." Mr Todo said as he began walking away to Miss Menchi who guarded the pot. I wondered what he talked about; everybody got an egg down there as far as I knew.  
"Damn that bastard! I can't let him have it." Leorio spoke harshly. I looked over to Leorio to see him shaking in anger, a glare on his face that was strong enough to burn through metal. His hands held into tight fists.  
"Don't worry." My brother said, holding out an arm to make Leorio stop doing whatever it was he was going to do.

As Mr Todo walked towards the pot he began rummaging through his pockets. Gon quickly bounced up to the pot himself and held out his hands as Mr Todo continued to search around in his pockets. Did he lose his egg? Mr Todo bent down to Gon's level as Miss Menchi took the egg and held it into the air. She began saying something to him and held a smile on her face as she did it. I could only guess that she was proud of him. The rest of us walked up behind Gon as he placed a finger to his chin, as if thinking to something she said.  
"Because…he said "help!"" Gon said cheerfully. I didn't know what the question was, but I couldn't help but smile at Gon's answer. Miss Menchi held Gon's egg between her fingers and looked away, furrowing her brows as she closed her eyes.  
"What a straight answer. You are so simple." Miss Menchi said to Gon, who was pulled into a head lock by Leorio. Leorio began rubbing the top of Gon's head with his fist, a wide smile on his face.  
"You did it, you! Take this!" Leorio said to Gon who laughed at his gestures. I smiled even wider, if you never met the two than you would think they were brothers; just like I had when we first saw them.  
"It's too early to celebrate. The test is not over yet. You are going to make the boiled egg as assigned." Miss Menchi said to us. She held her arm in the air with Gon's egg in her hand as she stood guard of the pot.

Everybody that got an egg began surrounding the pot. The five of us went to take our stand around the pot as well. I looked at the boiling water; steam rose of it and danced in the air. It felt warm and welcoming. There were quite a few eggs already inside. The five of us gently dropped our eggs into the pot and then backed away to avoid being spat at by the water. Miss Menchi and Mr Buhara handed us nets so that we could retrieve our eggs without burning ourselves.  
"Let me remind you. A boiled egg is a fine dish too. The boiling time is the most essential point. You can't just boil a Spider Eagle egg for the same time as an ordinary egg. I don't have to tell you what would happen if you over boil it. Naturally, a half boiled egg means you fail, too…" Miss Menchi said to us. I watched the water carefully. If I could get this right then this would be my first step in being able to cook! And maybe I could create a speciality dish like Gon and his rice with egg.  
"Isn't it about the time?" Leorio asked as we held pour nets close to our bodies, getting ready to grab our egg at the right moment.  
"Nope. A little longer." My brother instructed as we continued to watch the boiling water with the eggs at the bottom.  
"I don't even know the boiling time for an ordinary egg…" Killua commented. I looked at him slightly shocked, considering what he made at back at the Exam building that was hard to believe. I turned my attention back to the water with the eggs inside, gripping onto my net pole tightly.

The eggs started jumping about in the water. I looked at it questionably, did eggs normally jump? I don't think the boiled eggs that my brother made jumped about when they were boiled. Mr Buhara started whimpering and bent over slightly, looking into the pot with a wide frown.  
"He just said "oh!"" Gon said, looking at Mr Buhara. All of us turned our attention to him, looking at him with interest and wonder, was that the signal?  
"That means…" Leorio began saying as Mr Buhara kept fidgeting about, looking down into the boiling pot.  
"Now's the time!"  
"Hurry!"  
"The egg's ready!"  
"It's gonna get overcooked!"  
"I got it!" People began yelling as we all began putting our nets into the water to grab our egg before it over cooked. I smiled widely once I retrieved mine. The colour hadn't changed; it was still grey and spotty. It just felt heavier.

Once we all got our eggs we gathered around Miss Menchi. Miss Menchi gave us a normal egg that was boiled at some point earlier today. Once she was done she stood away from us and held out the two eggs in her hands. One was a white, normal egg and the other was the grey, spot covered Spider egg. Seeing them side by side I could tell there wasn't a size difference.  
"This is an ordinary egg. And, this is a Spider Eagle egg. Taste them and compare them." She told us. I looked at the Spider Eagle egg oddly, before taking a bite out of it. After swallowing I took a bite out of the normal boiled egg. The Spider Eagle egg was a lot creamier than the normal egg. I looked at it in wonder, how could that even be possible?  
"It's very rich and creamy, and melts in my mouth. It tastes as though the life force of the Spider Eagle is still there." My brother commented as I nodded my head, taking another bite out of the ordinary egg. I didn't know what to make of the Spider Eagle egg.  
"Yeah. I've never tasted a boiled egg like this before!" Leorio commented himself as I swallowed my mouthful before speaking.  
"I don't know what to make of it." I said sceptically as I continued to stare at the Spider Eagle egg with a questionable expression and took another bite from the normal egg.  
"It wasn't mould. It was moss! The horn moss! I told you it's a rare delicacy!" Miss Menchi yelled, making me snap my head up towards her. Gon was standing in front of her smiling widely, bits missing from his Spider Eagle egg where he had taken bites. I could only assume that Gon had commented on Miss Menchi's mossy rice to get that sort of reaction from her.

I finished off my normal egg. I walked up to Gon and held out the rest of my Spider Eagle egg to him, seeing as he gave the rest of his to Mr Todo. Gon looked at me questionably as I smiled widely at him.  
"I don't think I like it very much, so you can have it seeing as you gave the rest of yours to Mr Todo." I said to him, giving him a wide toothy grin. Gon smiled widely back at me and took the rest of the egg gratefully.  
"Thank you." He said to me as we began gathering around Miss Menchi. Miss Menchi smiled at us all and held her hands on her hips as she looked around.  
"Phase Two has forty six who passed! Menchi's menu is over!" Miss Menchi shouted to us. The group began cheering is happiness.  
"We did it!" The group shouted excitedly. I smiled widely and jumped up and down on the spot slightly until I felt my brother rub the top of my head making me stop but bouncing. I moved my head up slightly and smiled up widely at him with a toothy grin, happy for the silent congratulation from my brother.

All of us boarded the airship as the sun began to set. I stood next to Gon and my brother, my back against the wall so I didn't have to look out of the window. I didn't really want to see my boiled egg again, no matter how much I liked it. The airship travelled through the sky to an unknown destination, the sun set filling the airship corridor we stood in with bright yellow and orange light. I nudged Gon in his side slightly to gain his attention. When he turned his head to look at me I smiled widely at him.  
"Thank you for pushing me." I said to him cheerfully. Gon smiled widely back and nodded his head.  
"That's okay." He said back to me. I felt my brother shift slightly from beside me and saw Gon's smile drop into an apologetic one. I looked at Gon questionably and then turned around to see my brother looking at us both with a disappointed glare on his face.  
"You did what?" He questioned Gon more than me, although I could tell he was mad at me as well for not telling him straight away about what happened. I couldn't help but smile apologetically at my brother; I guess finding out this way that Gon had pushed my off the mountain in order to get me to actually do the test wasn't the best way to find out.

* * *

_Author Note: Writing this chapter made me want boiled eggs so bad._


End file.
